CALLAHAN, HARRY

born Oct. 22, 1912, Detroit, Mich., U.S. died March 15, 1999, Atlanta, Ga. in full Harry Morey Callahan American photographer noted for his innovative photographs of commonplace objects and scenes. Callahan had no formal training in photography and first developed an interest in it in 1938. He remained an uninspired hobbyist until 1941, when he saw photographs by the landscape photographer Ansel Adams. He then began to seek his own photographic style. Most of Callahan's career was spent teaching photography. In 1946 Lszl Moholy-Nagy and Arthur Siegel invited him to join the teaching staff of the Institute of Design (from 1949 part of the Illinois Institute of Technology) in Chicago, and from 1949 to 1961 he was head of the photography department there. From 1961 until 1976 he helped develop a photography department at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. Callahan's primary subjects were landscapes, cityscapes, and varied, unconventional portraits of his wife and daughter. He tended to avoid literal representations in his work, preferring instead to emphasize quietly lyrical abstract design. The Museum of Modern Art in New York City presented a major retrospective exhibition of his work in 1976, and in 1980 two collections of his photographsWater's Edge and Harry Callahan: Color 19451980were published.