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Callahan, HarryAmerican, 1912-1999

Born in Detroit in 1912, Harry Callahan was a self-taught photographer. Callahan began taking pictures in his hometown Detroit for fun, opting for an inexpensive point and shoot camera over an expensive 16mm movie camera. In 1941, he joined a camera club, and while there, met celebrated photographers of the previous generation, including Ansel Adams, who gave a workshop for the class. After studying engineering at Michigan State University, Callahan worked as a photographic technician for General Motors, but was hired in 1946 by László Moholy-Nagy to teach photography at the Institute of Design (ID), Chicago. Initially established as the New Bauhaus, the ID was at the forefront of innovative methods of education and teaching photography in America in the mid-20th century. In 1948, Callahan met Edward Steichen, who responded strongly to his work, including it in numerous shows at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 1961, Callahan left Chicago to head the photography department at the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence with his friend and former ID colleague Aaron Siskind. He stepped down from the chairmanship in 1973, but continued teaching at the school until his retirement in 1977.

Callahan often transformed his everyday subjects—nature, architecture, city streets, his wife Eleanor and daughter Judith into (barely recognizable) simple forms; a visual essence that still evokes their worldly counterparts. Callahan’s goal, however, was to describe, not to conceal or distort. For each new subject, he refreshed his photographic vocabulary and used his 8x10 view camera and strong sense of design and composition to create meticulously crafted and elegant images.

Harry Callahan produced several monographs of his work including Harry Callahan (1996), Water’s Edge (1980), Harry Callahan: Color (1980), Callahan (1976), Photographs: Harry Callahan (1965), The Multiple Image (1961), and On My Eyes (1960). His work is held in the collections of numerous museums including the Art Institute of Chicago; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; Museum of Modern Art, New York and the George Eastman House, New York.

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Aix-En-Provence, France
Callahan, Harry
1957
Cape Cod
Callahan, Harry
1972
Cape Cod
Callahan, Harry
1976
Chicago
Callahan, Harry
c. 1950
Chicago
Callahan, Harry
1949
Chicago
Callahan, Harry
c. 1949
Cuzco, Peru
Callahan, Harry
1974
Dearborn Street, Chicago
Callahan, Harry
n.d.
Detroit
Callahan, Harry
1941
Eleanor
Callahan, Harry
1948
Eleanor
Callahan, Harry
c. 1947