Untitled (Eugenie Stoll holding doll) c. 1940

Curator: This is an untitled work by C. Bennette Moore, part of the Harvard Art Museums collection. It features Eugenie Stoll holding a doll, captured in a photographic negative. Editor: Wow, it’s… intense. That stark contrast, the almost spectral quality—it’s like a memento mori of childhood. Eerie, yet captivating. Curator: The doll, a representation of innocence, juxtaposed with the photographic negative...it presents childhood as a period marked by a latent sense of loss, a foreshadowing of mortality. Editor: Right? Makes you wonder about the relationship between Eugenie and her doll. Is it pure affection, or is there something deeper, something…symbolic? It's haunting and thought provoking. Curator: I agree. The inversion of tones really amplifies those questions. Editor: Absolutely. The way it upends the familiar—it makes you see the familiar with fresh eyes.