Charles “Teenie” Harris (US American, 1908–1998)
Cotton Candy Booth, c. 1945
silver gelatin print
Gift of Stephen DiRado, in memory of Harold Stevens, 2022.143
7 ⅞” x 10″
Charles “Teenie” Harris’ work provides detailed insight into Black American life from 1935 to 1975, documenting moments that were both intimately local and nationally resonant. Throughout his career with the Pittsburgh Courier, Harris developed a vast body of work that portrayed celebrities and civil rights leaders, sports heroes and soldiers, the elite and the working class alike. Themes of joy, community, and childhood innocence exude from his photographs at a time when segregation, violence, and pain were the primary topics attached to Black life in the media.