Edward Weston, nude [Charis Wilson], 1936
From Through Another Lens, My Years with Edward Weston [Wilson and Madar], North Point Press, ©1998
Edward Weston, Heimy in Golden Canyon, 1937
From Weston's Westons, California and the West, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/Bullfinch Press, ©1994
Heimy is the name Weston and Charis gave to the 1937 Ford they purchased so that they could travel to make the photographs they needed for the Guggenheim Fellowship grant Weston had just received after Charis had helped him apply.
Edward Weston, Saguaro, Arizona, 1938
From Weston's Westons, California and the West, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/Bullfinch Press, ©1994
For those of us who were here on the planet, he was simply the greatest photographer of our time.
He could do great portraits, people, landscapes, still lifes, and seemingly, whatever struck his fancy.
He was worshipped, and by nobody quite as much as photogenic young women who became great photographers as well. Certainly nowhere near as famous as he, but that had more to do with their personas and the continual reinvention of himself as the need arose to exhibit and publish his work.
Some diverse examples appear below.
Edward Weston, Shell, 1927
Edward Weston, José Clemente Orozco, 1930
Edward Weston, Cabbage Leaf, 1931
Edward Weston, Dunes, 1936
Weston's Daybooks are to my liking, insightful and excellent reading for anyone interested in photography and for that matter, freelancing for a livelihood today.
Ben Maddow's is a decent enough read but Charis Wilson disagrees with his description of Weston, so it's worthwhile to read her account of her years with the great master for a balanced perspective.
