Eleanor and Barbara 1953

Harry Callahan made this gelatin silver print, "Eleanor and Barbara". Callahan emerged from a documentary tradition that addressed social issues in America, particularly in the Depression era. Yet, he pushed beyond the simple recording of reality. The stark, seemingly barren landscape, bisected by the harsh vertical of the utility pole, speaks to a different, more personal kind of vision. The mother and child are dwarfed by the landscape and the looming infrastructure, perhaps suggesting an unease about the place of the individual in the face of modernization. The open space and sky evoke a sense of loneliness, a theme common in postwar American art, literature, and film. To fully understand Callahan’s work, scholars consult his personal writings, the broader history of American photography, and period social theory. The meaning of any artwork emerges through an understanding of the complex social and institutional contexts in which it was created and viewed.