Mick Hartley

Washington, D.C., 1917. "St. Elizabeths, government hospital for the insane."

[Shorpy: Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative, Library of Congress]

This photograph really needs to be seen full size.

The photographer isn't named, but what a picture this is. The focus on the back of the neck – there's somehow no more intimate defenceless part of the body than the nape of the neck, yet this isn't intrusive, as a modern photograph might be. The woman retains her dignity. The out-of-focus objects on the table – her knitting – just emphasise the disconnection, the isolation. The focus is on her…on her, sitting there, alone. The narrow shoulders under the chemise, the glasses, the wispy strands of hair…