Oh, Eleanor. You are so beautiful. This image of her by her husband, photographer Harry Callahan is one of my all time favorite images, ever. So iconic, so sweet and melancholic.
Yesterday, Eleanor Callahan past away at 95. Can you imagine what a legacy their family has in these photographs? There are so many of her in their everyday life. I love this description she gave of what it was like being photographed by him...
Eleanor once said to me a wonderful comment about what it was like to be photographed by Callahan. She told me that she might be cooking or cleaning, doing something around the house and Harry would see a scene, interesting light that he thought looked beautiful or an arrangement of forms that he deeply appreciated. And he would say to Eleanor, "Take your clothes off." Eleanor's response to me was, "And that was that." viaThis PBS article, Photographer Harry Callahan at 100, is a good read.
All images via
pssst... I've long had an affinity for photographer/muse images and even based my very first custom heart embroideries on some of these relationships. Harry & Eleanor are there, as well as June + Helmut Newton, Edith + Emmet Gowin, Charis Wilson + Edward Weston.
I always loved his catalog of her image, so to speak, it's simply beautiful how his wife was one of his favorite subjects. I'm saddened to hear she passed!
ReplyDelete