Untitled (two little girls standing, wearing dresses) 1958

Curator: This haunting silver gelatin print from Lainson Studios captures two young girls in matching dresses. It's simply titled "Untitled (two little girls standing, wearing dresses)" and resides here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: My initial reaction? Eerie, almost ghostly. The negative image reverses our expectations, making the girls seem luminous, like little apparitions. Curator: The reversal definitely lends that otherworldly feel. It challenges the conventional, sentimental portraiture of children so common at the time, doesn't it? Editor: Absolutely. And that subversion, I think, is what makes it so compelling. Instead of sweetness, we get a disquieting sense of… something unsaid. Were such reversals common in this studio's practice? Curator: I'm sure such details could be discerned with further examination, though it could be a unique choice. It makes me wonder about the intent, maybe to capture something beyond the surface of childhood. Editor: It certainly asks more questions than it answers, doesn't it? Which, in my book, makes for really interesting art.