Brett Weston

mounted, signed and dated by the photographer in pencil on the mount, matted, 1937

The photographer to his aunt, Mary Weston Seaman

By descent to her daughter, Jeannette Seaman

By descent to her nephew, John W. Longstreth

Other prints of this image:

Kurt Markus, Dune: Edward & Brett Weston (Kalispell, 2003), cover and p. 28

Jon Burris and Henry Rasmussen, "The Unknown Brett Weston," Black & White, Issue 8, August 2000, p. 71

This luminous early print, on paper with a surface sheen, and on a thick tan mount, is in generally excellent condition. There is very faint edge-fading at the periphery of the print. When examined in raking light, a small, sharp handling crease, and a very soft, barely discernable crease are visible at the left side of the print. These are minor and likely occurred prior to mounting. There is also light silvering at the periphery. The mount's edges are somewhat rubbed, and the corners slightly bumped. It is age-darkened, particularly at the periphery, and there is faint damp-staining at the bottom edge on the front and back. Five small remains of white cloth tape are on the upper and lower edges of the front of the mount.
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.

The photograph offered here was taken in Oceano, California, some thirty miles north of Santa Barbara.  The windswept dunes Brett Weston found in Oceano appealed to his interest in abstraction, providing endless views that were constantly changing.  For Brett, the best time to photograph the dunes was early morning, just as the sun was coming up. Speaking of Brett's dunes, Beaumont Newhall has said 'Brett's are linear, two-dimensional, taken when the sun was low and the raking light created dramatic contrasts of deeply richly black shadows and dazzling highlights' (Brett Weston: Voyage of the Eye, unpaginated). 

The dunes at Oceano were an elemental, nearly transcendent experience for Brett.  Unlike his father, who would use the dunes as both a subject and a backdrop for his nudes, Brett was a purist.  He was fascinated by their curving sensuality which he equated to the curves of a nude: 'these curves are better than most women' (quoted in Dune, p. 17).  Brett's first dune photographs were taken in 1931, when he was twenty years old.   They would be a recurrent theme in his work, and he would return periodically to Oceano to photograph them.  While the dunes of Oceano were the discovery of Brett's older brother Chandler, all of the Westons would go on to photograph there.