Untitled (doll on swing) c. 1950

Curator: This photogram, currently titled "Untitled (doll on swing)," comes to us from artists Lucian and Mary Brown and resides in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: My first thought? That doll looks seriously bummed out. It's like she's waiting for something... or someone... that's never gonna show. Curator: It's interesting you say that. Dolls, swings—these evoke childhood innocence. But positioning, combined with the grayscale, offers a reading of isolation and perhaps even a loss of innocence. Editor: Exactly! It's the anti-playground vibe. You expect joy, but you get this quiet melancholy. Makes you wonder what story the artists were trying to tell, or maybe what story the doll's got locked inside. Curator: The Browns were prolific in their time, and this work touches on the mid-century anxieties surrounding youth, gender roles, and the performative nature of childhood, especially within the domestic space. Editor: I'll tell you, it makes me think about all the forgotten toys, lost dreams, and the heavy weight of expectation that gets dumped on us, even when we're tiny. It’s actually quite moving, in a spooky sort of way.