Eleanor and Barbara, Chicago
Photography

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Eleanor and Barbara, Chicago
Artwork Details
Artist/Maker
Harry Callahan
American, 1912–1999
American, 1912–1999
Date
1953, printed later
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Accession #
1997.13
Dimensions
Please contact the Museum for more information.
Location
Currently Not on View
Description
Harry Callahan frequently photographed his wife, Eleanor, and their daughter, Barbara, in inventive ways that opened new creative avenues in his work. He was intrigued by the conventions of the ordinary family snapshot and sought to apply its tropes—familiar subjects centrally positioned within the frame, casually facing the camera—to the formally rigorous demands of his cumbersome 8-x-10-inch camera. Callahan composed this impeccably detailed shot so that his family is surrounded by an unusual amount of dark space. A thin shaft of light dramatically pierces the darkness, illuminating an otherwise banal scene.
Credit
Purchase with funds from the H. B. and Doris Massey Charitable Trust, Dr. Robert L. and Lucinda W. Bunnen, Collections Council Acquisition Fund, Jackson Fine Art, Powell, Goldstein, Frazer and Murphy, Jane and Clay Jackson, Beverly and John Baker, Roni and Sid Funk, Gloria and Paul Sternberg, and Jeffery L. WigbelsImage Copyright
© 2018 The Estate of Harry Callahan