Untitled (dormitory room, students, Columbia Prep) c. 1940

Editor: This photograph by Harris & Ewing, titled "Untitled (dormitory room, students, Columbia Prep)," shows two students in what appears to be a dorm room. It feels staged, but also intimate. What do you see in this image? Curator: It's a fascinating document of a very specific social world. Look at the racial homogeneity, the coded language of dress, the emphasis on order. It speaks volumes about power structures and access in early 20th-century education. Editor: So, beyond just a picture of a dorm room, it’s about social status? Curator: Precisely. Who has the privilege to even occupy such a space, and what expectations come with it? The image silently reinforces existing hierarchies of class and race. Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't considered, thank you. Curator: It's about looking beyond the surface to the unspoken narratives.