The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Detroit

Detroit

1941
(American, 1912–1999)
America, 20th century
gelatin silver print
Image: 17.3 x 23.6 cm (6 13/16 x 9 5/16 in.); Paper: 20.2 x 25.2 cm (7 15/16 x 9 15/16 in.); Matted: 40.6 x 50.8 cm (16 x 20 in.)
In memory of Sol Bauer 1984.20
© Harry Callahan, courtesy PaceWildensteinMacGill, New York
Location: not on view

Description

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Callahan became interested in photography in the late 1930s while working as an accountant at the Chrysler Corporation. Reminiscing during an interview in 1983, he remarked that a workshop with Ansel Adams in 1941 convinced him that "you didn't have to go the Taj Mahal to take pictures." Exploring the beauty in the world around him, his subject matter ranged from an ongoing series of his wife, Eleanor, to street scenes, landscapes, beaches, and nature studies. In this close-up composition, dark vertical reeds are seen against shimmering, gray water. The wayward curves and quivering reflections make it difficult to tell where the blades of grass begin and end. Callahan captured a sense of texture, atmosphere, and movement, demonstrating the sensitive vision that made him one of the most influential photographers and teachers of the 20th century.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 117
  • American Space: Landscape Photography 1900-1950. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 6-May 23, 2001).
    Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; January 3-May 23, 2001. "American Space: Landscape Photography, 1900-1950."
    Year in Review for 1984. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 3-May 5, 1985).
    CMA 1985: "Year in Review 1984," Bulletin 72 (April 1985), p. 201, no. 32. repr. p. 196.
    CMA 1983: Harry Callahan Photographs, November 15-December 31, 1983, no cat.
  • {{cite web|title=Detroit|url=false|author=Harry Callahan|year=1941|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1984.20