Untitled (four men sitting in small office) c. 1950

Curator: Here we have an intriguing, undated photograph by Jack Gould, currently held in the Harvard Art Museums collection. It's titled "Untitled (four men sitting in small office)." Editor: It has the air of a smoke-filled back room, doesn't it? You can almost hear the weighty pronouncements and see the ash falling. Curator: Yes, there's a palpable sense of deliberation. The image size is relatively small, roughly 4 by 5 inches, making this captured moment feel intimate. The composition seems to invite us into their conversation. Editor: I find myself pondering the dynamics at play here. Who holds the power in this group? The man with the cigarette? The one with his arms crossed? It feels like they are setting the course of history, or at least trying to. Curator: Indeed. And it is interesting to wonder what this course will be, isn't it? Editor: Absolutely. It is these silences, these open questions, that keep me circling back to an image like this.