Eleanor and Barbara, Chicago,

1953

The photographer Harry Callahan influenced a generation of photographers through his teaching at the Institute of Design in Chicago. While the photography department had been known principally for formal experimentation, Callahan’s work shows an equal interest in the emotional and interpersonal realm of the everyday. This image of his wife and collaborator, Eleanor, and their daughter, Barbara, smiling in front of the Chicago Natural History Museum (now known as the Field Museum) might resemble a typical family snapshot if not for the distant point of view and the imposing geometry of the nearly empty plaza.