Chicago
1961
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
overall (image): 42.1 x 27.6 cm (16 9/16 x 10 7/8 in.) sheet: 43.02 x 35.56 cm (16 15/16 x 14 in.) mat: 60.96 x 45.72 cm (24 x 18 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of the Callahan Family
Accession Number
2011.95.35
Art Historical Context
Harry Callahan's *Chicago* (1961) is a captivating gelatin silver print that distills the pulse of urban life in the artist's longtime home. Measuring 42.1 x 27.6 cm, this black-and-white photograph exemplifies Callahan's innovative approach to street photography during the mid-20th century. As a key figure at Chicago's Institute of Design—founded by László Moholy-Nagy—Callahan pushed the boundaries of the medium, blending sharp documentary detail with subtle abstraction to reveal the city's geometric forms, fleeting pedestrians, and atmospheric light. The gelatin silver process, a hallmark o...
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...