Chicago
1958
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print mounted on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 13.2 x 20 cm (5 3/16 x 7 7/8 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of the Collectors Committee
Accession Number
1991.139.7
Art Historical Context
Harry Callahan's *Chicago* (1958) captures the essence of the artist's adopted hometown through a gelatin silver print, a classic black-and-white photographic medium prized for its rich tonal range and fine detail. Mounted on paperboard, this intimate 13.2 x 20 cm image exemplifies mid-20th-century American photography, where Callahan, a pioneering figure at the Institute of Design in Chicago, pushed boundaries with experimental techniques like multiple exposures and abstracted compositions. Taken during Callahan's tenure as head of the photography department there, the work reflects the post...
About the Artist
Harry Callahan
Harry Morey Callahan (1912–1999) was a pioneering American photographer whose self-taught ingenuity transformed everyday scenes into profound visual poetry. Born in Detroit, Michigan, he briefly studied engineering at Michigan State University before working at Chrysler, where he joined the company camera club. In 1938, Callahan took up photography as a hobby, but a 1941 lecture by Ansel Adams ins...