“Come on in, have a look around,” says Joe Lichtenberg as he answers the door to his home in Bethesda, Maryland. “There's much to look at!”

He's not wrong. The entryway splits off into two staircases, one leading up to a landing, and the other, shorter, running off into sunken drawing and dining rooms, and the kitchen. So the guest is immediately placed at three levels—hall at ground, landing above, living space below—and flanked at all three by museum-worthy photographic prints. They are large, black and white, and matted on white to seem even larger, gathered as closely together as wall space and good taste will allow. Many of the photographs are stunningly rendered land- or seascapes; a few feature people and events. Each is clearly by a prominent artist; each captures light and texture with a breathtaking clarity that calls out for closer study. The invitation for the guest to wander is immediate.

One photo in particular catches my eye as I follow Dr. Lichtenberg down the stairs to his living room: an 8 × 10 gelatin silver print by Sally Mann, titled “At My Mother's House.” The photo shows a living room darkened—or dimmed, rather—by sheer white curtains that give the afternoon light filtering through them a granular, almost mote-like quality. The light seems to bathe the subject of the photograph: a child on the