- 27
Harry Callahan
Description
- Harry Callahan
- ELEANOR, AIX-EN-PROVENCE
- Signed in pencil on the mount
- Gelatin silver print, mounted
- 6 1/2 x 5 inches
Provenance
Howard Greenberg Gallery, 2005
Literature
Peter C. Bunnell, Harry Callahan, 38th Venice Biennial 1978 (New York: International Exhibitions Committee of the American Federation of Arts, 1978), pl. 16
Sarah Greenough, Harry Callahan (Washington, D. C.: National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1996), p. 114
John Szarkowski, Photography Until Now (The Museum of Modern Art, 1989), p. 271
Jonathan Green, American Photography: A Critical History, 1945 to the Present (New York, 1984), p. 67
Condition
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
In Callahan’s work one sees both a consummate understanding of the technicalities of photography, and the will to bend the medium to creative use. His many explorations led him to experiment, always productively, with photomontage, abstraction, color, and, as seen here, multiple exposure. While austere in his vision, Callahan did not hesitate to include the personal in his work. His studies of his wife Eleanor and daughter Barbara are among the most intimate documents produced by a photographer in the last century. The double exposure offered here, in which Eleanor’s torso is superimposed over a flowering meadow, shows both Callahan’s technical mastery as well as his adventurously experimental approach, and is imbued with a personal sensibility.