By Jennifer Madison
He was known as 'One Shot Harris'. Charles 'Teenie' Harris earned the nickname because he often captured his most moving images in his first take.The late photographer's archive of nearly 80,000 is said to be the most expansive record of African American urban culture known today.
Now, fourteen years after his death, Mr Harris' work is being lauded in a retrospective exhibit, featuring rarely-seen images of Lena Horne, Sarah Vaughan, Louis Armstrong and other enduring names.
Cutting up: Duke Ellington at the piano, with dancer
Charles 'Honi' Coles and Billy Strayhorn looking on, in the Stanley Theatre, c
1942-1943
Side-by-side: An undated photo of Louis Armstrong and Ann
Baker in a booth at Crawford Grill No 1 restaurant in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania
Behind the lens: Charles 'Teenie' Harris, holding his
camera on the sidewalk at an unknown location, c 1938
After ten years of research into the archive, Teenie Harris, Photographer: An American Story, was put on display.
Photos of baseball star Jackie Robinson, and leaders such as John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr are featured among the most well-known names.
Duke Ellington, pictured signing autographs through a crowd, Lena Horne dancing with William 'Woogie' Harris, Josephine Baker accepting a Hill City membership card, big bands, dancing girls and carnivals feature in the expansive collection.
Icons: Eartha Kitt leaping though poster to launch a
Citizens Committee on Hill District Renewal program, left, and Nina Simone
holding cigarette and seated in chair c 1965, right
Star: Josephine Baker accepting a Hill City membership
card from Leslie Powell, with George Fairley holding police badges honouring
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and Howard McKinney. Unknown man in background, c
1951
A meditation: Lena Horne reflected in mirror in dressing
room at Stanley
Charming: Lena Horne standing next to cake inscribed
'Greetings Lena Horne', with Bill Nunn Sr on right, in Loendi Club, October
1944
Cutting the cake: Billy Eckstine and Lena Horne, centre,
with Miriam Sharpe Fountain in background on left, in Loendi Club, October
1944
Slow dance: Lena Horne dancing with William 'Woogie'
Harris, with Julia Bumry Jones on left in background, in Loendi Club, February
1938
Jubilation: An undated photo of Frank Bolden, left, and
Sarah Vaughan, right, with another woman and man at piano, in an unknown club
with a portrait of Ann Baker
Fanfare: Duke Ellington signing autographs in a crowd,
including Isabella Marble, Marverine and Blanche Cathcart, c
1946-1947
Backstage: Singer and actor Ethel Waters in costume before
she takes the stage, c 1940
All smiles: Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson seated with child on
his knee, and surrounded by three other children, in Hill City, c 1940
Taking a bite: Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson pretending eat a
large Eskimo Pie ice cream bar, with a WWSW radio station announcer behind the
microphone, c 1941
The first gallery features 'immersive
life-size projections combined with a newly commissioned jazz soundtrack',
according to the museum.
In the next hangs a chronology of Mr Harris' selected 987 photographs - and first-person narratives, including those from Harris' family, subjects and colleagues to guide viewers through the tour.
The final section of the exhibition is dedicated to an in-depth evaluation of Harris as an artist.
Born in 1908 in Pittsburgh, Mr Harris began his career as a semi-professional athlete, but after buying his first camera found his niche, and he turned to photography in the 1930s.
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Initially, he specialised in glamour portraits, and eventually opened his own photography studio.
He turned to news years later, and began freelancing in 1941 for the Pittsburgh Courier - the leading African American newspaper at the time.
He became a widely-respected photojournalist before he retired in 1975, capturing on camera a colourful chronicle of the black urban community during the Jim Crow and civil rights
In the next hangs a chronology of Mr Harris' selected 987 photographs - and first-person narratives, including those from Harris' family, subjects and colleagues to guide viewers through the tour.
The final section of the exhibition is dedicated to an in-depth evaluation of Harris as an artist.
Born in 1908 in Pittsburgh, Mr Harris began his career as a semi-professional athlete, but after buying his first camera found his niche, and he turned to photography in the 1930s.
Wide-eyed: Children line up at a cotton candy booth at an
unknown location, c 1945
Something sweet: Two young women eating caramel apples in
front of an unknown school, c 1940-1945
All the right notes: Cozy Harris playing piano sheet music
for 'Mother of Mine,' with cigar in his mouth, next to an unknown woman, c
1950-1955
Happy together: Earl 'Fatha' Hines, Erroll Garner, Billy
Eckstine, Maxine Sullivan and Mary Lou Williams gather around a piano in Syria
Mosque in Pittsburgh for Night of Stars, August 7, 1946
Blow man, blow! Musicians gathered around Roy Eldridge
playing trumpet, backstage of the Stanley Theatre, July 1941
Shaking hands: Saxophonist Benny Carter squatting on stage
to greet fans in Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York, October 8,
1945
Jazz: Group portrait of six-piece Honey Gun band,
including Martin Kimes on guitar and James 'Honey Gun' Colbert on drums, with
trumpet, bass, and saxophone, in Harris Studio, c 1940-1945
Inspired: Trumpet players Pete Henderson, Will Austin,
Charles 'Chuck' Austin, and Tommy Turrentine, standing behind Will Smith with
bongos, in Harris Studio, left, and a dancer performing in front of Darlings of
Rhythm band, 1945, right
Victory: Billy Eckstine Orchestra performing with Art
Blakey on drums in Hill City Auditorium (Savoy Ballroom), October 1944, left,
and The Ink Spots, with James G Thompson, Doc Wheeler at the Savoy Ballroom,
1942, right
Piano men: Duke Ellington at piano, with band and drums
initialed 'S. G.' on stage, c 1944, left, and five men including Nate Harper,
gathered around piano played by Billy Taylor at Pittsburgh Jazz Festival, Civic
Arena June 18-20, 1965, right
Flash: 20th Century copy of Flash Magazine with a cover
photo of Charles 'Teenie' Harris, c 1938-1939, left, and Harris' own
self-portrait taken in Harris Studio, c 1940, right
Initially, he specialised in glamour portraits, and eventually opened his own photography studio.
He turned to news years later, and began freelancing in 1941 for the Pittsburgh Courier - the leading African American newspaper at the time.
He became a widely-respected photojournalist before he retired in 1975, capturing on camera a colourful chronicle of the black urban community during the Jim Crow and civil rights
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099132/Teenie-Harris-Photographer-An-American-Story.html#ixzz1mfXUbA9X
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