Untitled (Self-Portrait)

A pioneering jewelry artist, Merry Renk moved to Chicago in 1946 to study at the Institute of Design. In the spring of 1947, along with fellow students, she started an apartment gallery at 750 North Dearborn Avenue. Called the 750 Studio, the space exhibited work by students and faculty of the school, including Harry Callahan’s first solo show and a posthumous retrospective of László Moholy-Nagy’s work. Renk made this self-portrait for an assignment in Callahan’s class that explored how to photograph “people without people.” The multiple reflections in the window exemplify Callahan’s emphasis on form.