Eleanor
Artist
Harry Callahan
(American, 1912-1999)
CultureAmerican
Date1954
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 7 x 6 7/8 in. (17.8 x 17.5 cm)
Overall, Support: 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm)
Overall, Mat: 16 1/16 × 20 1/8 in. (40.8 × 51.1 cm)
Overall, Support: 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm)
Overall, Mat: 16 1/16 × 20 1/8 in. (40.8 × 51.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Menschel
Object number87.436
Not on view
Label TextHarry Callahan
American 1912–1999
Eleanor, 1954
Gelatin silver print (photograph)
From about 1941 until his death in 1999, Harry Callahan photographed his wife, Eleanor, thousands of times—alone and with their daughter, nude and clothed, indoors and out. Here, Callahan uses the landscape’s outward characteristics to suggest an interior state of mind through a series of contrasts: the white sheet under Eleanor and the dark thicket of trees, her hips resting heavy on the earth from which scrubby trees sprout up in little tufts, a curious tan line that splits her back into light and dark halves, and a sense of private intimacy in a wide-open space.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Menschel 87.436
Exhibition History"History of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va, Fall, 2001.
"New Light on Land: Photographs from the Chrysler Collection," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, January 28 - May 15, 2016.
