Only known enlarged exhibition print. Wrapped round board.

Annotated 'Gift from Harry Callahan, Wayne Miller 1955' in pencil on mount verso. Inscribed on verso 'Hot Stuff'.

Harry Callahan, Hot Stuff! (Eleanor Nude), c.1948 is a remarkable photograph of exceptional size by one of the greatest American photographers of the twentieth century. No other prints are known and this work is believed to be unique.

Inscribed on the reverse, presumably by Wayne Miller, HOT STUFF.

Enlarged exhibition print. Mounted onto thick board, around which the edges of the image are wrapped.

This photograph is one of Callahan's largest early works and was clearly presented this way for inclusion in one of his first exhibitions, most likely Diogenes with a Camera I, MOMA (1952) as catalogue 28 Nude on a black background (enlargement). (The work is not visible in the single surviving installation photograph)

The picture is one of a number of nudes of Eleanor set against a black background from 1948/49, which are amongst the most sensual of all Callahan's depictions of his wife.

The Centre for Creative Photography, Arizona, which houses Harry Callahan's personal archive, has the 2 1/4 inch square negative for this work. One 2 1/4 inch contact print has subsequently been discovered but no other prints of this work are known.

The format of the negative further establishes the works connection to other nudes of 1948 which have a square format.

We are grateful to Stephen Daiter of Stephen Daiter Gallery; Tasha Lutek at the Photography Department, MOMA; Michelle Harvey at the Steichen Archive, Moma; and Leslie Squyres at the Centre for Creative Photography, Arizona for their assistance in cataloguing this exceptional work.