Teenie Harris, Photographer: An American Story

FAIN: GI-50303-11

Carnegie Institute (Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4007)
Louise W. Lippincott (Project Director: August 2010 to March 2014)

Implementation of a multimedia traveling exhibition examining the work of African American photographer Teenie Harris of Pittsburgh.

"Teenie Harris, Photographer: An American Story" is the first major retrospective exhibition and Web site celebrating the work and legacy of African American artist Charles "Teenie" Harris (1908-1998). From 1936 to 1975, Harris was staff photographer for the Pittsburgh Courier, the preeminent Black news weekly. This was a period of momentous change for Black Americans, and Harris's pictures offer a richly, detailed history of the time. Carnegie Museum of Art opens An American Story in Pittsburgh, October 29, 2011-April 15, 2012. The national tour of the exhibition begins May 1, 2012: confirmed traveling venues to date are Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (August-October 2012) and the Robert W. Woodruff Library at Atlanta University Center (January-March/April 2013).

Associated Products

Teenie Harris, Photographer: Image, Memory, History (Catalog)
Title: Teenie Harris, Photographer: Image, Memory, History
Author: Cheryl Finley
Author: Joe W. Trotter
Author: Laurence Glasco
Abstract: "Charles "Teenie" Harris (1908-1998) photographed the events and daily life of African Americans for the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the nation's most influential Black newspapers. From the 1930s to 1970s, Harris created a richly detailed record of public personalities, historic events, and the lives of average people. In 2001, Carnegie Museum of Art purchased Harris's archive of nearly 80,000 photographic negatives, few of which are titled and dated; the archive is considered one of the most important documentations of 20th-century African American life (www.cmoa.org/teenie). The book will serve as the definitive publication on the life and work of Teenie Harris, consisting of three significant essays: Cheryl Finley, assistant professor in the history of art at Cornell University, offers the first thorough analysis of Harris as an artist, situating him within the history of 20th?century African American art as well as American documentary and vernacular photography; Larry Glasco, associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh, draws on new research to present a detailed biography of the photographer; and Joe Trotter, professor of history and social justice at Carnegie Mellon University, explores the social and historical context of Harris's photographs. The book will also include a foreword by Deborah Willis, professor at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. In addition to comparative illustrations within the essays, the book includes 100 plates of Harris's signature work and a complete bibliography and chronology"
Year: 2011
Primary URL: http://teenie.cmoa.org/
Catalog Type: Exhibition Catalog
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press

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