Misplaced Pages

#856143

64-426: Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was an American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers" and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." Over the course of his 40-year career Weston photographed an increasingly expansive set of subjects, including landscapes, still lifes, nudes, portraits, genre scenes, and even whimsical parodies. It

128-416: A Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Dinner - Honoring Harry Chandler (1931) included this excerpt: At six feet two, Chandler was a big man, and many stories were told of his prowess in delivering papers, tussling with trade unionists, or pitching hay on one of his many ranches. A Congregationalist in religion, he abstained from alcohol, lived frugally, and commuted by foot whenever possible. His favorite charity

192-495: A brief but important trip to the Mojave Desert. It was there that he first explored and photographed landscapes as an art form. He found the stark rock forms and empty spaces to be a visual revelation, and over a long weekend he took twenty-seven photographs. In his journal he declared "these negatives are the most important I have ever done." Later that year he and Brett moved to San Francisco, where they lived and worked in

256-428: A couple of months there photographing and promoting his work, and, conveniently, he could travel under the pretense of Modotti being his assistant and translator. The week before he left for Mexico, Weston briefly reunited with Mather and took several nudes of her lying in the sand at Redondo Beach. These images were very different from his previous nude studies – sharply focused and showing her entire body in relation to

320-494: A dual exhibition at University of California of the photographs that he and Brett had made the year before. The father showed 100 prints and the son showed 20. Brett was only 15 years old at the time. In February he started a new series of nudes, this time of dancer Bertha Wardell . One of this series, of her kneeling body cut off at the shoulders, is one of Weston's most well-known figure studies. At this same time he met Canadian painter Henrietta Shore , whom he asked to comment on

384-570: A farm owned by his aunt, and developed his own film and prints. Later he would remember that even at that early age his work showed strong artistic merit. He said, "I feel that my earliest work of 1903 ‒ though immature ‒ is related more closely, both with technique and composition, to my latest work than are several of my photographs dating from 1913 to 1920, a period in which I was trying to be artistic." In 1904 May and her family moved to California, leaving Weston further isolated in Chicago. He earned

448-491: A great deal of joy. And I can seldom say that of photographs." Soon after Weston returned from New York, Robo moved to Mexico and set up a studio there to create batiks . Within a short while he had arranged for a joint exhibition of his work and of photographs by Weston, Mather and a few others. In early 1923 Modotti left by train to be with Robo in Mexico, but he contracted smallpox and died shortly before she arrived. Modotti

512-470: A joint show of their photographs, and it opened the week he returned. He received new critical acclaim and six of his prints were purchased for the State Museum. For the next several months he concentrated once again on photographing folk art, toys and local scenes. One of his strongest images of this period is of three black clay pots that art historian Rene d'Harnoncourt described as "the beginning of

576-501: A living by taking a job at a local department store, but he continued to spend most of his free time taking photos, Within two years he felt confident enough of his photography that he submitted his work to the magazine Camera and Darkroom , and in the April 1906 issue they published a full-page reproduction of his picture Spring, Chicago . This is the first known publication of any of his photographs. In September 1904, Weston took part in

640-420: A new art." In May 1926 Weston signed a contract with writer Anita Brenner for $ 1,000 to make photographs for a book she was writing about Mexican folk art. In June he, Modotti and Brett started traveling around the country in search of lesser known native arts and crafts. His contract required him to give Brenner three finished prints from 400 8x10 negatives, and it took him until November of that year to complete

704-524: A recording of life , for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself...I feel definite in the belief that the approach to photography is through realism. Weston continued to photograph the people and things around him, and his reputation in Mexico increased the longer he stayed. He had a second exhibition at the Aztec Land Gallery in 1924, and he had a steady stream of local socialites asking him to take their portraits. At

SECTION 10

#1732793950857

768-478: A review by Marius de Zayas that said "Photography is beginning to be photography, for until now it has only been art." The different culture and scenery in Mexico forced Weston to look at things in new ways. He became more responsive to what was in front of him, and he turned his camera on everyday objects like toys, doorways and bathroom fixtures. He also made several intimate nudes and portraits of Modotti. He wrote in his Daybooks : The camera should be used for

832-565: A small studio owned by Hagemeyer. He made portraits to earn an income, but he longed to get away by himself and get back to his art. In early 1929 he moved to Johan Hagemeyer's cottage in Carmel, and it was there that he finally found the solitude and the inspiration that he was seeking. He placed a sign in studio window that said, "Edward Weston, photographer, Unretouched Portraits, Prints for Collectors." He started making regular trips to nearby Point Lobos, where he would continue to photograph until

896-513: A stage and film actress, was never married to Robo, but they pretended to be for the sake of his family. Weston and Modotti were immediately attracted to each other, and they soon became lovers. Richey knew of Modotti's affair, but he continued to be friends with Weston and later invited him to come to Mexico and share his studio. The following year Weston agreed to allow Mather to become an equal partner in his studio. For several months they took portraits that they signed with both of their names. This

960-568: A studio with Johan Hagemeyer . Weston seemed to be struggling with his past and his future during this period. He burned all of his pre-Mexico journals, as though trying to erase the past, and started a new series of nudes with Lerner and with his son Neil. He wrote that these images were "the start of a new period in my approach and attitude towards photography." His new relationship with Lerner did not last long, and in August 1925 he returned to Mexico, this time with his son Brett. Modotti had arranged

1024-446: A total sum of almost $ 400 million since its inception. Each year, the foundation receives a high number of applications; since its formation it has seen anywhere between 500 and 4,000 applications. Out of these, approximately 175 Fellowships are awarded. The size of each grant varies and the amount and duration of the grant is adjusted based on the individual needs of the recipients, taking into consideration their other resources and

1088-767: Is among the all-time masterpieces of photography. Weston had a series of important one-man exhibitions in 1930–31. The first was at Alma Reed's Delphic Studio Gallery in New York, followed closely by a mounting of the same show at the Denny Watrous Gallery in Carmel. Both received rave reviews, including a two-page article in the New York Times Magazine . These were followed by shows at the De Young Museum in San Francisco and

1152-900: Is owned by the Getty): "The range of grays across that forest of columns has about every gray you can image." At that time New York City was the cultural center for photography as an art form in America, and Alfred Stieglitz was the most influential figure in photography. Weston badly wanted to go to New York to meet with him, but he did not have enough money to make the trip. His brother-in-law gave him enough money to continue on from Middletown to New York City, and he spent most of October and early November there. While there he met artist Charles Sheeler and photographers Clarence H. White , Gertrude Kasebier , as well as Stieglitz. Weston wrote that Stieglitz told him, "Your work and attitude reassures me. You have shown me at least several prints which have given me

1216-473: Is said that he developed a "quintessentially American, and especially Californian, approach to modern photography" because of his focus on the people and places of the American West. In 1937 Weston was the first photographer to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship , and over the next two years he produced nearly 1,400 negatives using his 8 × 10 view camera . Some of his most famous photographs were taken of

1280-548: The Illinois College of Photography . They taught a nine-month course, but Weston finished all of the class work in six months. The school refused to give him a diploma unless he paid for the full nine months; Weston refused and instead moved back to California in the spring of 1908. He briefly worked at the photography studio of George Steckel in Los Angeles, as a negative retoucher. Within a few months he moved to

1344-779: The Los Angeles Times after Harry's death. Chandler Boulevard, a major street in the San Fernando Valley , is named after Harry Chandler. A dining hall was named in his honor at the California Institute of Technology in 1960. Sixty-one years later, the Caltech Board of Trustees voted in 2021 to have Chandler's name removed from the building for his involvement with the Human Betterment Foundation . The dining hall

SECTION 20

#1732793950857

1408-482: The Los Angeles Times . They had a daughter, Francesca, born April 7, 1890, and a second daughter, Alice May, born July 24, 1892. Magdalena, whom Harry called "May," died at age 29 of puerperal fever two weeks after Alice May's birth on August 4, 1892. Chandler went on to marry Marian Otis in 1894. Francesca and Alice May were soon joined by Constance (born March 19, 1896), Ruth (October 15, 1897), Norman (September 14, 1899), Harrison Gray Otis (February 12, 1904) and

1472-862: The San Fernando Valley and the Hollywood Hills (Hollywoodland). The Hollywoodland sign was used to promote the development. Chandler's other real estate projects included Mulholland Drive , much of Dana Point , the Tejon Ranch (281,000 acres (1,140 km ) in Southern California), the Vermejo Park Ranch (340,000 acres (1,400 km ) in New Mexico), and the C&;M ranch (832,000 acres (3,370 km ) in northern Baja, Mexico). At one point, those investments made him

1536-981: The San Pedro Harbor , the Los Angeles Athletic Club , the California Club , The Pacific Electric Cars, the Los Angeles Art Association, the Santa Anita Park racetrack, the Los Angeles Steamship Company, the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park , and the restoration of downtown's Olvera Street . As a real estate investor, he was a partner in syndicates that owned and developed much of

1600-573: The men's double American round archery event at the 1904 Summer Olympics with his father also taking part in the same event. At his sister's urging Weston left Chicago in the spring of 1906 and moved near May's home in Tropico, California (now a neighborhood in Glendale ). He decided to stay there and pursue a career in photography, but he soon realized he needed more professional training. A year later he moved to Effingham, Illinois , to enroll in

1664-476: The pictorial style . On December 16, 1911, Weston's second son, Theodore Brett Weston (1911–1993), was born. He became a long-time artistic collaborator with his father and an important photographer on his own. Sometime in the fall of 1913, Los Angeles photographer, Margrethe Mather visited Weston's studio because of his growing reputation, and within a few months they developed an intense relationship. Weston

1728-533: The Galerie Jean Naert in Paris. Guggenheim Fellowship The foundation holds two separate competitions each year: The performing arts are excluded from these fellowships, but composers, film directors, and choreographers are still eligible to apply. While students are not qualified to apply, advanced professionals in mid-career, such as published authors, are encouraged to do so. Upon receipt of

1792-407: The change and later recorded it in his notes: "The Middletown visit was something to remember...most of all in importance was my photographing of 'Armco'...That day I made great photographs, even Stieglitz thought they were important!" Weston Naef, former curator of photography at the J. Paul Getty Museum , has praised the "technical virtuosity" of Weston's most successful Armco image (a print of which

1856-461: The edges tangentially; his compositions were now created exclusively for a space with the proportions of eight by ten. There is no extraneous space nor is there too little. In early April 1929, Weston met photographer Sonya Noskowiak at a party, and by the end of the month she was living with him. As with many of his other relationships, she became his model, muse, pupil and assistant. They would continue to live together for five years. Intrigued by

1920-414: The end of his career. It was there that he learned to fine-tune his photographic vision to match the visual space of his view camera, and the images he took there, of kelp, rocks and wind-blown trees, are among his finest. Looking at his work from this period, one biographer wrote: Weston arranged his compositions so that things happened on the edges; lines almost cross or meet and circular lines just touch

1984-762: The first half of the 20th century. Chandler was directly involved with helping to found the following: the Los Angeles Coliseum (and bringing the 1932 Summer Olympics to L.A.), the Biltmore Hotel , the Douglas Aircraft Company , the Hollywood Bowl , The Ambassador Hotel , the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the Automobile Club of Southern California , KHJ radio station, Trans World Airlines ,

Edward Weston - Misplaced Pages Continue

2048-680: The fruit fields, he started a small delivery company that soon became responsible for also delivering many of the city's morning newspapers, which put him in contact with the publisher of the Los Angeles Times , Harrison Gray Otis , who liked the entrepreneurial young man and hired him as the Times ’ general manager. Harry married Otis's daughter, Marian Otis , in 1894, two years after the death of his first wife. The couple had six children together and also raised two daughters from Harry's first marriage. Upon Otis's death in 1917, Harry took over

2112-495: The grant, Fellows are free to use the funds however they deem fit. The goal of the grant is to provide recipients with dedicated time and freedom to pursue their projects or artistic endeavours, while being relieved of their regular duties. Applicants are required to submit references as well as a CV and portfolio . As of 2023, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has funded over 18,000 Fellows with

2176-573: The knees." Weston is known to have made at least twenty-eight prints of this image, more than he had made of any other shell image. In September of that year Weston had a major exhibition at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco . At the opening of the show he met fellow photographer Willard Van Dyke , who later introduced Weston to Ansel Adams . In May 1928, Weston and Brett made

2240-493: The largest private landowner in the United States , and he was meanwhile an officer or director in 35 corporations, including oil, shipping, and banking, or other California corporations. Chandler was a notable supporter of eugenics during his time as president of the Los Angeles Times and was a member of the Human Betterment Foundation , an organization that was headed by Ezra Gosney . A proclamation prepared for

2304-416: The many kinds and shapes of kelp he found on the beaches near Carmel, in 1930 Weston began taking close-ups of vegetables and fruits. He made a variety of photographs of cabbage, kale, onions, bananas, and finally, his most iconic image, peppers. In August of that year Noskowiak brought him several green peppers, and over a four-day period he shot at least thirty different negatives. Of these, Pepper No. 30 ,

2368-532: The more established studio of Louis Mojonier. For the next several years he learned the techniques and business of operating a photography studio under Mojonier's direction. Within days of his visit to Tropico, Weston was introduced to his sister's best friend, Flora May Chandler. She was a graduate of the Normal School, later to become UCLA. She assumed the position of a grade-school teacher in Tropico. She

2432-418: The most important." In early 1915 Weston began keeping detailed journals he later came to call his "Daybooks". For the next two decades he recorded his thoughts about his work, observations about photography, and his interactions with friends, lovers and family. On December 6, 1916, a third son, Lawrence Neil Weston, was born. He also followed in the footsteps of his father and became a well-known photographer. It

2496-404: The natural setting. They have been called the artistic prototypes for his most famous nudes, those of Charis Wilson which he would take more than a decade later. On July 30, 1923, Weston, his son Chandler, and Modotti left on a steamer for the extended trip to Mexico. His wife, Flora, and their other three sons waved goodbye to them at the dock. It's unknown what Flora understood or thought about

2560-409: The next few weeks he explored many different kinds of shell and background combinations – in his log of photographs taken for 1927 he listed fourteen negatives of shells. One of these, simply called Nautilus , 1927" (sometimes called Shell , 1927), became one of his most famous images. Modotti called the image "mystical and erotic," and when she showed it to Rene d'Harnoncourt he said he felt "weak at

2624-630: The next three years he worked, alone and sometimes with the assistance of family members in his studio. Even at that early stage of his career he was highly particular about his work; in an interview at that time he said " Photographic plates are nothing to me unless I get what I want. I have used thirty of them at a sitting if I did not secure the effect to suit me." His critical eye paid off for him and he quickly gained more recognition for his work. He won prizes in national competitions, published several more photographs and wrote articles for magazines such as Photo-Era and American Photography , championing

Edward Weston - Misplaced Pages Continue

2688-428: The next twenty years. Until now Weston had kept his relationships with other women a secret from his wife, but as he began to photograph more nudes Flora became suspicious about what went on with him and his models. Chandler recalled that his mother regularly sent him on "errands" to his father's studio and asked him to tell her who was there and what they were doing. One of the first who agreed to model nude for Weston

2752-402: The photos of Wardell. He was surprised by her honest critique: "I wish you would not do so many nudes – you are getting used to them, the subject no longer amazes you ‒ most of these are just nudes." He asked to look at her work and was intrigued by her large paintings of sea shells. He borrowed several shells from her, thinking he might find some inspiration for a new still life series. Over

2816-513: The purpose and scope of their plans. The average grant awarded is between $ 40,000 and $ 55,000. Since the inaugural class of 1925, over 18,000 fellowships have been awarded. Harvard University counts the most affiliated fellows at 176, followed by Yale University at 102, Princeton University at 96, Berkeley at 73, and Columbia University at 72. † Harvard includes Radcliffe and Columbia includes Barnard College Harry Chandler Harry Chandler (May 17, 1864 – September 23, 1944)

2880-475: The reins as publisher of the Times and transformed it into the leading newspaper in the West and at times the most successful. For three straight years in the 1920s, under his leadership, the Times led all other American newspapers in advertising space and in number of classified advertisements. As a community builder and large-scale real estate speculator, he became arguably the leading citizen of Los Angeles in

2944-460: The relationship between Weston and Modotti, but she is reported to have called out at the dock, "Tina, take good care of my boys." They arrived in Mexico City on August 11 and rented a large hacienda outside of the city. Within a month he had arranged for an exhibition of his work at the Aztec Land Gallery, and on October 17 the show opened to glowing press reviews. He was particularly proud of

3008-400: The same time, Weston began to miss his other sons back in the U.S. As with many of his actions, though, it was a woman who motivated him most. He had recently corresponded with a woman he had known for several years named Miriam Lerner, and as her letters became more passionate he longed to see her again. He and Chandler returned to San Francisco at the end of 1924, and the next month he set up

3072-465: The trees and rocks at Point Lobos , California, near where he lived for many years. Weston was born in Chicago and moved to California when he was 21. He knew he wanted to be a photographer from an early age, and initially his work was typical of the soft focus pictorialism that was popular at the time. Within a few years, however he abandoned that style and went on to be one of the foremost champions of highly detailed photographic images. In 1947 he

3136-466: The twins Helen and Philip (born February 17, 1907). His mansion in Los Feliz was owned many years later by Father Yod , and used by Yod's The Source Family . Chandler died on September 23, 1944, from a heart attack . He and Marian are buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Santa Monica Boulevard . Harrison Gray Otis's memorial is nearby. Harry's oldest son, Norman Chandler , took charge of

3200-545: The work. During their travels, Brett received a crash course in photography from his father, and he made more than two dozen prints which his father judged to be of exceptional quality. By the time they returned from their trip, Weston and Modotti's relationship had crumbled, and within less than two weeks he and Brett returned to California. He never traveled to Mexico again. Weston initially returned to his old studio in Glendale (previously called Tropico). He hastily arranged

3264-474: Was Modotti. She became his primary model for the next several years. In 1922 he visited his sister May, who had moved to Middletown, Ohio . While there he made five or six photographs of the tall smoke stacks at the nearby Armco steel mill. These images signaled a change in Weston's photographic style, a transition from the soft-focus pictorialism of the past to a new, cleaner-edge style. He immediately recognized

SECTION 50

#1732793950857

3328-423: Was a quiet Midwestern transplant to California, and Mather was a part of the growing bohemian cultural scene in Los Angeles. She was very outgoing and artistic in a flamboyant way, and her permissive sexual morals were far different from the conservative Weston at the time – Mather had been a prostitute and was bisexual with a preference for women. Mather presented a stark contrast to Weston's home life; his wife Flora

3392-513: Was an American newspaper publisher and investor . Harry Chandler was born in Landaff, New Hampshire , the eldest of four siblings born to Emma Jane ( née Little) and Moses Knight Chandler. He attended Dartmouth College , and on a dare, he jumped into a vat of starch that had frozen over during winter, which led to severe pneumonia . He withdrew from Dartmouth and moved to Los Angeles for his health. In Los Angeles, while working in

3456-415: Was born on April 26, 1910. Named Edward Chandler, after Weston and his wife, he later became a photographer as well. In 1910 Weston opened his own business, called "The Little Studio", in Tropico. His sister later asked him why he opened his studio in Tropico rather than in the nearby metropolis of Los Angeles, and he replied "Sis, I'm going to make my name so famous that it won't matter where I live." For

3520-865: Was described as a "homely, rigid Puritan, and an utterly conventional woman, with whom he had little in common since he abhorred conventions" ‒ and he found Mather's uninhibited lifestyle irresistible and her photographic vision intriguing. He asked Mather to be his studio assistant, and for the next decade they worked closely together, making individual and jointly signed portraits of writers Carl Sandburg and Max Eastman . A joint exhibition of their work in 2001 revealed that during this period Weston emulated Mather's style and, later, her choice of subjects. On her own Mather photographed "fans, hands, eggs, melons, waves, bathroom fixtures, seashells and birds wings, all subjects that Weston would also explore." A decade later he described her as "the first important person in my life, and perhaps even now, though personal contact has gone,

3584-476: Was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and he soon stopped photographing. He spent the remaining ten years of his life overseeing the printing of more than 1,000 of his most famous images. Weston was born in Highland Park , Illinois, the second child and only son of Edward Burbank Weston , an obstetrician, and Alice Jeanette Brett, a Shakespearean actress. His mother died when he was five years old and he

3648-457: Was during this period that Weston first met photographer Johan Hagemeyer , whom Weston mentored and lent his studio to from time to time. Later, Hagemeyer would return the favor by letting Weston use his studio in Carmel after he returned from Mexico. For the next several years Weston continued to earn a living by taking portraits in his small studio which he called "the shack". Meanwhile, Flora

3712-418: Was grief-stricken, but within a few weeks she felt well enough that she decided to stay and carry out the exhibition that Robo had planned. The show was a success, and due in no small part to his nude studies of Modotti, it firmly established Weston's artistic reputation in Mexico. After the show closed Modotti returned to California, and Weston and she made plans to return to Mexico together. He wanted to spend

3776-525: Was left on his own much of the time; he stopped going to school and withdrew into his own room in their large home. As a present for his 16th birthday Weston's father gave him his first camera, a Kodak Bull's-Eye No. 2, which was a simple box camera. He took it on vacation in the Midwest, and by the time he returned home his interest in photography was enough to lead him to purchase a used 5 × 7 inch view camera. He began photographing in Chicago parks and

3840-461: Was raised mostly by his sister Mary, whom he called "May" or "Maisie". She was nine years older than he, and they developed a very close bond that was one of the few steady relationships in Weston's life. His father remarried when he was nine, but neither Weston nor his sister got along with their new stepmother and stepbrother. After May was married and left their home in 1897, Weston's father devoted most of his time to his new wife and her son. Weston

3904-472: Was seven years older than Weston and a distant relative of Harry Chandler , who at that time was described as the head of "the single most powerful family in Southern California". This fact did not go unnoticed by Weston and his biographers. On January 30, 1909, Weston and Chandler married in a simple ceremony. The first of their four sons, Edward Chandler Weston (1910–1993), known as Chandler,

SECTION 60

#1732793950857

3968-417: Was spending all of her time caring for their children. Their fourth son, Cole Weston (1919–2003), was born on January 30, 1919, and afterward she rarely had time to leave their home. Over the summer of 1920 Weston met two people who were part of the growing Los Angeles cultural scene: Roubaix de l'Abrie Richey, known as "Robo" and a woman he called his wife, Tina Modotti . Modotti, who was then known only as

4032-695: Was the Salvation Army . He was an indefatigable worker and forthright in his editorial positions. For his comments on the court decisions in certain labor cases still in the process of appeal, he was found guilty in 1938 on two counts of contempt of court but this conviction was overturned by the United States Supreme Court . For their role in the decision, Chandler and the Times won their first Pulitzer Prize . On February 6, 1888, Harry married Magdalena Schlador, whose brother worked at

4096-430: Was the only time in his long career that Weston shared credit with another photographer. Sometime in 1920 he began photographing nude models for the first time. His first models were his wife Flora and their children, but soon thereafter he took at least three nude studies of Mather. He followed these with several more photographs of nude models, the first of dozens of figure studies he would make of friends and lovers over

#856143