Harry Callahan: Morocco

One of the foremost American photographers of the 20th century, Harry Callahan (1912–99) explored the expressive possibilities of both color and black-and-white photography from the outset of his career. Following his retirement from teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1977, however, he decided to dedicate his practice exclusively to color and pursue travel to foreign locales.
The 23 photographs in this publication, taken in Morocco in 1981, are the product of Callahan’s shift to a strictly chromatic palette and demonstrate his continued interest in the visual intrigue of the everyday urban landscape and the passersby who occupy it. Depicting his familiar subjects of architectural facades, random patterns of street activity and isolated figures lost in thought, the images transcend Morocco’s exoticism by exploring the formal and pictorial potential of the country’s environment.