Gallery Talk: Crafting Perfect Portraits with Photographic Proof Prints
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Join Madison Brown, co-curator of _The Way We Never Were_, for a discussion on proof prints and the craft of producing polished studio portraits. — Join Madison Brown, co-curator of The Way We Never Were: The American Professional Photographers Collection (August 29, 2026–May 9, 2027), for a discussion about the role of proof prints in the craft of producing polished studio portraits. Rather than capturing a single decisive moment behind the camera, the finished portrait is a result of a multi-step process. The proof prints are used by professional photographers to chart plans for retouching portraits, and photographers’ handwritten notations invite us to explore the extensive and collaborative work behind the sleek finished products. Led by: Madison Brown , Smithsonian Institution Postdoctoral Fellow, National Museum of American History, and former John R. and Barbara Robinson Family Curatorial Fellow in Photography, Division of Modern and Contemporary Art, Harvard Art Museums Funding for the exhibition and related programming was provided by the John R. and Barbara Robinson Family Fund for Photography and the M. Victor Leventritt Lecture Series Endowment Fund. Modern and contemporary art programs at the Harvard Art Museums are made possible in part by generous support from the Emily Rauh Pulitzer and Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., Fund for Modern and Contemporary Art.
