Harry Morey Callahan was an influential figure in the canon of great American photographers of the 20th century. Born in Detroit, Michigan, he was self-taught in the art form, eventually leaving his job at Chrysler to pursue it fulltime.
By 1946 he was invited to teach photography at the Institute of Design in Chicago by László Moholy-Nagy. He moved to Rhode Island in 1961 to establish a photography program at the Rhode Island School of Design, teaching there until his retirement in 1977.
His method of working consisted of a diligent routine; every morning he would traverse his local neighbourhood taking photographs, and every afternoon he would produce proof prints of the best negatives the day had produced. Despite this, he was meticulous about what he produced for public consumption; ultimately producing less than half a dozen final images a year.
Callahan is considered one of the few innovators in modern American photography, and his pioneering work in the medium and contribution to education has assured his legacy amongst subsequent generations of photographers and collectors alike.
Today, Callahan’s works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others.