Gallery Talk: Crafting Perfect Portraits with Photographic Proof Prints

Published on October 1, 2026

Harvard Art Museums
32 Quincy St.
Cambridge
Thu., Oct. 1, 2026, 12:30 – 1 p.m.

Photograph studio portrait of a woman with short hair and a spaghetti strap dress, with blue ink and graphite writing on the photograph.

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.

Gazette Classification: Art/Design
Organization/Sponsor: Harvard Art Museums
Speaker(s): 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
Cost: Free admission
Contact Info: [email protected] or 617-495-9400
Harvard Key Required: No
More info: harvardartmuseums.org…

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