Photo of people sitting on grass in a park with trees in the background.
Thomas F. Arndt, American, born 1944. 4th of July, Minneapolis, Minnesota (detail), 1976. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Mary and David Parker. 2012.115.10. © Tom Arndt

Photo Study Picks: Dog Days

By Joe Doherty

July 22, 2026—This month’s Photo Study Picks uses three photographs to explore the feeling of high summer. Rather than focusing on a single subject, the images trace how heat reshapes the city, heightens sensation, and changes the ways people gather and move through public spaces.

Frank W. Gohlke

The black-and-white photo shows an urban setting with tall buildings in the background and a smaller, one-story structure in the foreground.

Frank W. Gohlke, American, born 1942. Landscape, Minneapolis, 1973. Gelatin silver print. Gift of the artist. 82.29.5. © Frank Gohlke

Heat flattens the city and slows movement. The city becomes a body under pressure, charged with stillness. The paved landscape turns unfamiliar and unforgiving. Another planet.

Lisette Model

A black-and-white photograph shows a person standing at the shore in a black swimsuit. They are leaning forward with hands resting on their knees and are smiling widely. The ocean waves lap against their legs, and the horizon stretches in the background.

Lisette Model, American (born Austria), 1901–1983; Lunn Gallery/Graphics International Ltd., Publisher. Coney Island Bather, New York, 1939–41. Gelatin silver print (printed 1976). The Alfred and Ingrid Lenz Harrison Fund. 2002.230.8. © Lisette Model

Every gesture made in the heat is felt more intensely. Discomfort sharpens, but so does the pleasure of relief. We seek out cool water, shade, ice, and joy.

Thomas F. Arndt

Photo of people sitting on grass in a park with trees in the background.

Thomas F. Arndt, American, born 1944. 4th of July, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1976. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Mary and David Parker. 2012.115.10. © Tom Arndt

Heat doesn’t empty the city—it redistributes the people. They gather, and public space loosens. The city becomes communal, a place to wait, rest, watch, and linger, holding on to the peak of summer as the sun begins to roll lower and fall waits at the edge of the season.

Bonus: An Actual Dog (the Author’s)

A brown-and-black dog is lying on its back on green grass. The dog has its mouth open wide, showing its teeth and tongue, and its ears are perked up. Its front legs are bent at the elbows, resting against its chest.

Tina, Minneapolis, 2026, private collection, not available to view in the photo study room, not a part of Mia’s collection.

About Joe Doherty, Collection Care Specialist

A collection care specialist with a focus in photography, Joe Doherty oversees the preservation and management of Mia’s nearly 13,000 photographs. He has a graduate certificate in Museum Collections Management and Care from George Washington University and earned his master’s degree in fine art at the University of Alberta, Canada. Doherty has a passion for preventive conservation; education; and diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion work within the cultural heritage sector.