The Charles Harris Archivist Endowment

FAIN: CH-51048-13

Carnegie Institute (Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4007)
Louise W. Lippincott (Project Director: May 2012 to October 2017)

Endowment for a key humanities position to oversee the archive of African American photographer Charles "Teenie" Harris (1908-1998).

Carnegie Museum of Art (CMA) is seeking a $300,000 challenge grant from The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to help permanently endow the Teenie Harris Archivist position. This $1.2 million endowment campaign marks a critical moment in the evolution of the archive from a grant-funded special project to an integral component of the museum’s permanent collection. Since 2003, and with continuous support from NEH, CMA has worked to preserve and make accessible the life’s work of Pittsburgh African American photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris (1908–1998). Today, Harris’s archive of 80,000 images is considered one of the most complete portraits of 20th-century, urban African American experience ever created. Its distinction arises not only from the extent, quality, and historical importance of its many images, but also because its records and interpretation are based on first-person accounts and accounts from African American scholars and publications.