Harry Callahan - The Human Figure

Eleanor

Harry Callahan's work covered a range of topics using his unique appreciation of form. He was famously inspired by his wife Eleanor and she was considered his muse for a broad body of his work. He and his wife were supposedly inseparable. Some look upon Callahan's observations of Eleanor as a labor of love and adoration for her body and soul. Others, particularly feminist voices, have commented that, in his work, Eleanor is treated as an obedient possession, passive to his instructions. It is up to you how you interpret his study of his wife, but do note the interesting and creative ways in which he has represented her body. He has used a variety of contexts, settings and themes as well as editing methods to represent, not just her form, but her presence as he sees it.