1912-1999
Harry Callahan (1912-1999) was inspired to take up photography after hearing Ansel Adams speak, Harry Callahan was largely self-taught, though he did receive encouragement in his pursuits from such luminaries as Edward Steichen and Alfred Stieglitz.
His method was to wander the streets most mornings, and in the afternoon he would experiment with proofs of his best negatives. Despite this quasi-daily routine, his final output was no more than a half a dozen final images per year, demonstrating the intensity and rigour of his selection process.
For subject matter, Callahan chose his immediate surroundings, from family, most especially his wife Eleanor Knap, to street scenes, to the landscapes from his escapes to the countryside. In much of his work he experiments with abstraction, each one a poetic reflection on his lived experience.