Highland Park, Michigan
1941-1942
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 8.89 x 11.75 cm (3 1/2 x 4 5/8 in.) sheet: 10.16 x 12.7 cm (4 x 5 in.) mat (matted, with 2011.95.10 and 2011.95.11): 50.8 x 30.48 cm (20 x 12 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of the Callahan Family
Accession Number
2011.95.12
Art Historical Context
**Highland Park, Michigan** (1941–1942) by Harry Callahan is a captivating gelatin silver print that invites visitors to explore mid-20th-century American life through a modest yet evocative lens. Captured in the industrial heartland of Michigan, this intimate photograph—measuring just 8.89 x 11.75 cm—showcases Callahan's early mastery of black-and-white photography. The gelatin silver process, a staple of the era, delivers rich tonal contrasts and fine detail, allowing subtle nuances of urban texture and light to shine. Created on the cusp of World War II, the image reflects the everyday gri...
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...