Oral history interview with Harry M. Callahan
odd: label: General
content: The quality of the tapes is uneven due to mechanical difficulties.
label: General
content: Originally recorded as 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 27 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Callahan, Harry M.
label: Interviewer
content: Brown, Robert F.
topic: label: Topic
content: Photography -- United States
label: Topic
content: Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Callahan, Harry M.
label: Interviewer
content: Brown, Robert F.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Harry M. Callahan (1912-1999) was a photographer of New York, New York. Callahan taught at the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, 1946-1961. Chair of photography department, Rhode Island School of Design, 1961-1977.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 41 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1975 February 13
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.callah75
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Transcript available online.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Harry M. Callahan conducted 1975 February 13, by Robert Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Callahan discusses his childhood and family. He talks about his informal training in photography and meeting his good friend, Todd Webb. He remembers meeting Ansel Adams and the great impression Adams made on him and and his photography. He remembers meeting Alfred Stieglitz. Callahan talks about his job in the General Motor's photo lab. He remembers a disappointing first trip to New York. He talks about getting a teaching position at the Chicago Institute of Design with the assistance of Arthur Siegel. He recalls Lazlo Maholy-Nagy (then, Director) who was very impressed by Callahan's photographs. Callahan remembers meeting Aaron Siskind. He talks about the impact his daughter's birth had on him. He discusses starting the photography department at the Rhode Island School of Design. He talks about photographing during his travels to France, Germany, Puerto Rico, and South America.