Edward Weston 1886-1958

mounted, initialed and dated by the photographer in pencil on the mount, numbered 'PL42-Bi-1' in an unidentified hand in pencil on the reverse, 1942

Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York

Acquired by Nancy Richardson from the above, 1999

Other prints of this image:

Conger 1696

David Travis, Edward Weston: The Last Years in Carmel (The Art Institute of Chicago, 2001, in conjunction with the exhibition), fig. 20 and p. 80

Beaumont Newhall, Supreme Instants: The Photography of Edward Weston (Tucson: Center for Creative Photography, 1986, in conjunction with the exhibition), pl. 95

Nancy Newhall, ed., Edward Weston: The Flame of Recognition (Aperture, 1967), p. 76

Jennifer A. Watts, ed., Edward Weston, A Legacy (Los Angeles: The Huntington Library, 2003, in conjunction with the exhibition), pl. 70

Ben Maddow, Edward Weston: Fifty Years (Aperture, 1973), p. 131

Judith Hochburg, Sarah Lowe, Michael Mattis, and Dody Weston Thompson, Edward Weston: Life Work (Revere, 2004), pl. 103

Manfred Heiting, ed., Edward Weston (Köln, 2004), p. 209

This early print, with its range of gray tones and astonishing detail, is in generally excellent condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In Edward Weston: Photographs from the Collection of the Center for Creative Photography, Amy Conger locates three other prints of this image in institutional collections.  Conger quotes B. Ullrich-Zuckerman who, in an article entitled 'With Edward Weston,' published in Photo Metro (no. 5:43, October 1986, p. 6), recounts pointing out subject matter to the photographer on Point Lobos.  Of the photograph offered here, Ullrich-Zuckerman writes,

'But it is not special like the pelican I find for him on the beach.  The bird looks as if it sat on the beach spreading its wings for balance against the tide, too sick to move, finally putting down its head and long curved neck to die.  But Edward framed only one section of it, giving you the moving life of birds soaring against the sun and diving for fish.'  

A print of this image was shown in Edward Weston, the photographer's first major retrospective exhibition, at The Museum of Modern Art in 1946.