Dec 5, 2024 11:00 EST

Fine Art & Photographs

 
  Lot 240
 

240

Edward Weston Nude, [Charis], Santa Monica, 1936

Estate / Collection: The Estate of LeGrand Mellon

WESTON, EDWARD (1886–1958)

Nude, [Charis], Santa Monica, 1936, likely printed early 1940s. Gelatin silver print, dry-mounted to card, 9 1/2 x 7 5/8 inches (243 x 193 mm), initialed "EW" and dated at lower right in pencil, the mount verso with full signature and title in Weston's hand in pencil, negative number 227 N in pencil at upper right, the "Art Lending Service of the Museum of Modern Art" label completed in typewriter mounted at upper right. Minor silvering noted to extreme edges of print, several minuscule indentations noted in raking light, not breaking the emulsion (most of these pinpoint, and probably in the emulsion itself).

Fully signed lifetime prints of Weston's magnificent nude portrait of his wife-to-be Charis are quite rare in commerce. In the early 1940s, when the present example was likely prepared, Weston had stopped signing the front mount with his full signature and negative date, using initials and negative date. He had written "I will be more widely acclaimed and my work sought for after I am gone. I must realize that every print I send out (God forgive the portraits) with my signature is going to be severely criticized by those who know" (from the Daybooks, 1930). As his Parkinsonism progressed and his writing became more labored, this must have become ever more a concern. In the earlier part of the decade, he still signed and titled the reverse of the mounts, as was done here, stopping even that in the late 1940s. Fully signed later lifetime prints of this, one of the most iconic photographs of the twentieth century, are quite rare and exceptionally desirable.

Merle Armitage, Fifty Photographs: Edward Weston (New York, 1947), pl. 21
Ben Maddow, Edward Weston: Fifty Years (Aperture, 1973), p. 267
Amy Conger, The Form of the Nude (New York, 2005), p. 97
Nancy Newhall, The Flame of Recognition (Aperture, 1965), p. 65
Brett Abbott, Edward Weston’s Book of Nudes (J. Paul Getty Museum, 2007), pl. 39
Charis Wilson, Edward Weston: Nudes (Aperture, 1993), p. 82

Photographs

   

Estimate
$20,000 - $30,000
 

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Estate / Collection: The Estate of LeGrand Mellon

WESTON, EDWARD (1886–1958)

Nude, [Charis], Santa Monica, 1936, likely printed early 1940s. Gelatin silver print, dry-mounted to card, 9 1/2 x 7 5/8 inches (243 x 193 mm), initialed "EW" and dated at lower right in pencil, the mount verso with full signature and title in Weston's hand in pencil, negative number 227 N in pencil at upper right, the "Art Lending Service of the Museum of Modern Art" label completed in typewriter mounted at upper right. Minor silvering noted to extreme edges of print, several minuscule indentations noted in raking light, not breaking the emulsion (most of these pinpoint, and probably in the emulsion itself).

Fully signed lifetime prints of Weston's magnificent nude portrait of his wife-to-be Charis are quite rare in commerce. In the early 1940s, when the present example was likely prepared, Weston had stopped signing the front mount with his full signature and negative date, using initials and negative date. He had written "I will be more widely acclaimed and my work sought for after I am gone. I must realize that every print I send out (God forgive the portraits) with my signature is going to be severely criticized by those who know" (from the Daybooks, 1930). As his Parkinsonism progressed and his writing became more labored, this must have become ever more a concern. In the earlier part of the decade, he still signed and titled the reverse of the mounts, as was done here, stopping even that in the late 1940s. Fully signed later lifetime prints of this, one of the most iconic photographs of the twentieth century, are quite rare and exceptionally desirable.

Merle Armitage, Fifty Photographs: Edward Weston (New York, 1947), pl. 21
Ben Maddow, Edward Weston: Fifty Years (Aperture, 1973), p. 267
Amy Conger, The Form of the Nude (New York, 2005), p. 97
Nancy Newhall, The Flame of Recognition (Aperture, 1965), p. 65
Brett Abbott, Edward Weston’s Book of Nudes (J. Paul Getty Museum, 2007), pl. 39
Charis Wilson, Edward Weston: Nudes (Aperture, 1993), p. 82


Photographs

   

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Auction: Fine Art & Photographs, Dec 5, 2024

  • Auction of Fine Art on Thursday, December 5, 2024 at 11am

  • Works Spanning the Post-War Years to the Present Day by Established and Emerging Artists

  • Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions

  • We Invite You to Contact Us for a Complimentary Auction Evaluation of Your Fine Art


NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle will hold a sale in the popular Fine Art auction category on Thursday, December 5, 2024 at 11am. Showcased will be a wide range of paintings, prints and sculpture spanning the Post-War years to the present day by established and emerging artists.

Photographs
A special section of the sale comprising lots 147 - 243 is dedicated to Photographs. Read More


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