Susan McAndrew c. 1897

Editor: This is Gertrude Kasebier's photograph, "Susan McAndrew," currently housed at the Harvard Art Museums. The image quality makes it seem like a memory, doesn’t it? What symbolic elements resonate with you in this piece? Curator: The mother and child are archetypes, primal symbols of nurturing and dependence. Kasebier invites us to contemplate not just the bond but the enduring weight of motherhood in the cultural imagination. What emotions does the image evoke in you? Editor: A sense of timelessness, perhaps. Like this scene has replayed countless times. Curator: Precisely. Kasebier taps into a shared visual language, connecting viewers across time to the universal experience of maternal love. The soft focus emphasizes this dream-like quality, suggesting the idealized image of motherhood. Editor: It's interesting how she uses that softness to add to the emotion. I learned a lot about the power of symbols here. Curator: Indeed, every artistic choice can add layers of meaning.