Untitled (model window, closed) c. 1950

This photograph of a model window was made by Robert Burian at an unknown date using gelatin silver print. The image embodies a tension between revealing and concealing, opening up questions about domestic space and the gaze. Perhaps the closed window speaks to issues of privacy and barriers within society, a reflection of the time it was made. Photographs such as this raise questions of their cultural context. Was it made during a time of war, economic boom, or social change? How might such a social condition influence artistic production? Was it commenting on social structures or critiquing the institutions of art? Unlocking the answers to such questions necessitates looking at the broader history of photographic practices and exhibition in the twentieth century. Researching the cultural contexts of Robert Burian may help us further understand the role of this art within its specific time and place.