Harry Callahan
American, 1912–1999
Eleanor and Barbara, Chicago
INV-3386
Harry Callahan
American, 1912–19991953
Eleanor and Barbara, Chicago
Harry Callahan American, 1912–1999 →gelatin silver (developing-out-paper) prphotographic process
Date
1953
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image: 19.3 × 24.6 cm (7 5/8 × 9 11/16 in.); Mount: 31.6 × 37.1 cm (12 1/2 × 14 5/8 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Photography and Media Purchase Fund
Harry Callahan was one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, famed for his experimentation and his humanistic approach. He taught at Chicago’s Institute of Design from 1946 to 1961, and during this period he embarked on an innovative series featuring his wife, Eleanor, and their daughter, Barbara. Callahan combined features of casual snapshots (frontally posed figures, central framing, and harsh shadows) with the inherent qualities of an 8 × 10 camera (intense clarity, stillness, and large scale). This photograph from the series entered the collection at the end of Hugh Edwards’s tenure. Before retirement, Edwards wrote these departing words to Callahan: “As for so many others, your work, teaching, and influence have always been an inspiration for me and so they will continue to be.”
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