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Harry Morey Callahan

photographer

American[1,2] b. 22 October 1912, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.[1,2] d. 15 March 1999, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.[1,2] active 1938–1999

Harry Morey Callahan (1912–1999) was a prominent American photographer and educator known for his innovative approach to capturing everyday life. A self-taught artist who began photography in 1938, he became a significant figure in modern photography by exploring themes of light, shadow, form, and the nuances of common objects and urban landscapes. He taught at both the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. Callahan's work is characterized by its personal nature, often featuring his wife Eleanor and their daughter Barbara as subjects. His career was marked by technical experimentation with multiple exposures and color photography, and he represented the United States in the Venice Biennale in 1978.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]

  • everyday life
  • urban landscapes
  • light and shadow
  • form
  • multiple exposure
  • color photography

Books

  1. Harry Morey Callahan, Thaddeus John Szarkowski, John Szarkowski CALLAHAN 2334
    CALLAHAN
    Harry Morey Callahan, Thaddeus John Szarkowski
    €11.00

Works by Harry Morey Callahan

  • 1967 Harry Callahan Museum of Modern Art · book · English With an introductory essay by Paul Sherman.
  • 1980 Harry Callahan: Color: 1941–1980 Matrix Publications · book · English · ISBN 978-0936554006 Edited by Robert Tow and Ricker Winsor.
  • 1980 Water's Edge Callaway · book · English · ISBN 9780935112016 With an introductory poem by A. R. Ammons and an afterword by Callahan.
  • 1984 Eleanor Callaway · book · English · ISBN 978-0935112115
  • 1988 Harry Callahan: New Color: Photographs 1978-1987 Hallmark Cards · book · English · ISBN 978-0875296241 Exhibition catalogue.
  • 1999 Harry Callahan Aperture · book · English · ISBN 978-0893818210 With an essay by Jonathan Williams.
  • 2013 Harry Callahan: Retrospective Kehrer Verlag · book · English · ISBN 978-3868283587 Exhibition catalogue.
  • 1996 Harry Callahan: Photos National Gallery of Art · book · English · ISBN 978-0821223130 Exhibition catalogue.
  • 2012 Seven Collages Steidl · book · English · ISBN 978-3869301402 With an essay by Julian Cox.
  • 2016 Harry Callahan: The Street Black Dog Publishing · book · English · ISBN 978-1910433584 Curated and edited by Grant Arnold. Exhibition catalogue.

Exhibitions

  • 1951 Harry Callahan Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL · solo
  • 1976 Harry Callahan Museum of Modern Art, New York · solo
  • 2011 Harry Callahan at 100 National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. · solo

Awards

  • 1956 Graham Foundation Award
  • 1993 Edward MacDowell Medal MacDowell Colony
  • 1996 National Medal of Arts

References

  1. Amanda Hopkinson. Harry Callahan obituary. The Guardian. 1999 link
  2. Andy Grundberg. Harry Callahan, Cool Master of the Commonplace, Dies at 86. The New York Times. 1999 link
  3. Suzanne Muchnic. Eleanor Callahan dies at 95; subject of photos by husband, Harry. Los-Angeles Times. 2012 link
  4. Todd Webb, 94, Peripatetic Photographer. The New York Times. 2000 link
  5. Photographer Harry Callahan at 100. PBS NewsHour. 2011 link
  6. Hannah Booth. The big picture: Eleanor and Barbara, by Harry Callahan. The Guardian. 2012 link
  7. Andy Grundberg. Photography: New Work in Color by Callahan. The New York Times. 1985 link
  8. Sean O'Hagan. Portraits of women – by the men who loved them. The Guardian. 2013 link
  9. Richard B. Woodward. Eleanor Callahan, Photographic Muse for Harry Callahan, Dies at 95. The New York Times. 2012 link
  10. Harry Callahan (photographer). Wikipedia. 2025 link
  11. Harry Callahan Exhibition Brochure. Granet Museum. 2019