An exhibit documenting the work of one of Pittsburgh’s most influential 20th-century… An exhibit documenting the work of one of Pittsburgh’s most influential 20th-century photographers might seem like a fitting project for a major Pittsburgh art museum, but there is a serious obstacle to overcome: the photographer’s negatives — of which there are nearly 80,000 — arrived at the museum without captions.

With a little help from the photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris’ family and the public, however, the museum conservators said they hope to identify these photographs to archive Harris’ work — a project that began almost a decade ago.

“Documenting Our Past: The Teenie Harris Archive Project, Part Three,” an exhibit at the Carnegie Museum of Art, will run July 18 through Nov. 1 to commemorate the celebrated work of one Pittsburgh’s cultural icons.

Harris worked for one of the United States’ dominant black newspapers, the Pittsburgh Courier.

His career with the newspaper lasted from 1936 to 1975, when Harris captured historical events and the daily lives of Western Pennsylvania’s black population, particularly in the Hill District.

Similar to the two previous Teenie Harris shows, a guest curator has selected the photographs from Carnegie’s archives.

But Louise Lippincott, chief curator and acting co-director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, said this show’s curator, Charles A. “Little Teenie” Harris — Harris’ son — brings a personal touch to the last portion of the project.

“One of the fascinating aspects about this exhibition is that the curator is the son of the artist — a person who knew him well, if not best,” Lippincott said. “So the exhibition has a very particular, intimate sensibility to it. There is a personal meaning behind every photo that Little Teenie selected.”

Little Teenie Harris is the oldest son of Teenie Harris and a retired superviser for the U.S. Treasury Department.

A first-time curator for “The Teenie Harris Archive Project,” Harris joined the museum’s team for a project that has lasted almost eight years.

Harris had been a prospect for the curator position since the archive project began, but it wasn’t until the final show that he became available.

James said the idea of bringing in the artist’s son as curator for the exhibit had been “percolating in the background — something the museum wanted to have for a while.”

She added, “It’s not Teenie himself, but it’s his son and it’s the next best thing — having someone really know the work and really know the archives.”

Harris selected 184 photographs for the final exhibit, dividing the display by theme.

Categories for the exhibit include themes of daily life such as children, family, occupations, social, wedding, religious and sports events, as well as historical themes such as landmarks, celebrities, politics and protests.

Some of the intimate photographs depict the Harris home and family life.

Other images capture ordinary moments such as a coal miner holding a lunch pail, a meter maid working in the Hill District or a group of teenagers gathered around a cake for a Sweet 16 party.

“[‘Part Three’ is a] wonderfully robust show with a lot happening in it,” James said. “There are a lot of slice-of-life events, but there are also a lot of historical events. For instance, there are photos of presidents that visited Pittsburgh on their campaigns, performers [and] jazz musicians.”

She added, “He loved sports, so there are a lot of pictures of Roberto Clemente and the Pirates.”

Other influential celebrities, including John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy, Muhammad Ali and Lena Horne, appear in the collection.

The Carnegie Museum of Art purchased Harris’ archive of almost 80,000 photographic negatives in 2001.

According to the museum, “The archive is considered one of the most important documentations of 20th-century African American life.”

The National Endowment for the Humanities has funded Kerin Shellenbarger, an archivist for Teenie Harris’ work at Carnegie Museum of Art, to catalog and digitize Harris’ images since 2003.

Of the photographs owned by the museum, Shellenbarger, along with a team of catalogers and imaging technicians, has scanned and cataloged nearly 60,000 images.

Unfortunately, since most of the photographs came to the museum without captions, many people, places and events pictured were left unidentified.

“The idea has always been to have these shows not just to exhibit the vast amount of work that Teenie produced,” James said, “but also involve the viewers in identifying the photographs.”

The final step, James said, is to open the upcoming exhibit to the public for viewing and identification.

The museum will present Harris’ photographs with notebooks instead of captions, inviting the public to identify places and people.

James said the previous Teenie Harris shows have been very successful in both attendance and participation, and she expects Pittsburghers to receive “Part Three” with the same interest.

“So many people are interested in the images because Teenie Harris took pictures of their grandparents when they were younger,” James said, “or of the region they know so well.”