Iconic: The Photographs of Charles “Teenie” Harris

Jul 15, 2019–Jul 25, 2021

Iconic: The Photographs of Charles “Teenie” Harris

For more than four decades, Charles “Teenie” Harris photographed the city’s African American community for the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the nation’s most influential black newspapers. This exhibition captures the rich stories and pivotal moments of Pittsburgh’s history through some of the Hill District native’s most iconic images.

From portraits of Pirates pitching ace Al McBean at Forbes Field and a haunting double exposure of Nina Simone to a pair of Tuskegee Airmen standing at attention and three young boys witnessing the demolition of the Lower Hill, Harris documented cultural moments that were at once hyper-local and nationally resonant. Since 2011, Carnegie Museum of Art has been showcasing Harris’s indelible work through a series of focused exhibitions spanning a number of themes, topics, and histories—Hair (2013), Civil Rights (2015) and Jazz from the Hill (2018)—to name a few. This installment celebrates Harris’s work with a selection of staff favorites from these past exhibitions.

The museum’s collection of over 70,000 Harris images is one of the most detailed and intimate records of the black urban experience known today. CMOA is currently preparing an installation in the Scaife Galleries dedicated to the Teenie Harris Archive, which will open in early 2020.

The exhibition is organized by Charlene Foggie-Barnett and Dominique Luster, Teenie Harris Archive, Carnegie Museum of Art.

About the Teenie Harris Archive
Charles “Teenie” Harris (1908–1998) photographed Pittsburgh’s African American community circa 1935–1975. With over 60,000 images by Harris, the Teenie Harris Archive at Carnegie Museum of Art is one of the most detailed and intimate records of the black urban experience known today.