(courtesy Robert Campbell, M.D.)
Edith looks wistful here, pensive as always, but also a bit sad. Perhaps she is looking back to her childhood in Vienna before the wars. All the while, she is comfortable in her own skin and with herself in relation to Nature. The photo was probably taken by her husband, Fritz Schmidl, when they were vacationing in Aspen, Colorado. I love her socks!
Same day, late evening: I look at the picture again, probably the tenth time today, and Dr. Buxbaum no longer looks sad; here in my present mood, she appears content, happy. How much of the biographer is reflected in the biographee?
Esther Altshul Helfgott, Ph.D., July 5, 2011
