| The most recognizable characteristic of Barbara in Florence, Italy is that
it is clearly an image of a daughter made by her father—a photograph from
an unconventional family album. From early in his daughter’s life, Harry
Callahan included Barbara in his evolving photographic study of the world close
at hand. This seemingly casual portrait, made during a family vacation when she
was seven, catches her at ease against the backdrop of a formal garden. Shooting
from above, Callahan isolated his daughter’s head at the bottom edge of
the picture’s frame, breaking the traditional compositional rule of a centered
subject. Above her, in areas light-splashed with color and deep shadow, the sky
and surrounding foliage appear almost abstract. Sensing his daughter’s
fascination with this unfamiliar and beautiful vista, he photographed Barbara
lost in her own daydreams. She could be a modernist Alice in Wonderland. We see
the garden through her eyes and sense Callahan’s mingled feelings of
pride, happiness, and contentment at bringing her to this place. . . .
:: Paul Roth, Curator of Photography and Media Arts
Corcoran Gallery of Art |
Text excerpted from A Capital Collection: Masterworks from
the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
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