Edward Weston

titled and dated by the photographer in pencil and with reduction notations in an unidentified hand in orange crayon on the reverse, matted, 1938

The photographer to his sister, Mary Weston Seaman

By descent to her daughter, Jeannette Seaman

By descent to her nephew, John W. Longstreth

The Dayton Art Institute, Edward Weston's Gifts to His Sister, January - March 1978, and traveling to:

New York, International Center of Photography, July - September 1978; and

The Oakland Museum, February - March 1979

Kathy Kelsey Foley, Edward Weston's Gifts to His Sister (The Dayton Art Institute, 1978, in conjunction with the exhibition), p. 52 (this print)

Another print of this image:

Conger 1309

This slightly warm early print, on double-weight paper with a surface sheen, is in generally excellent condition. The edges are rubbed, and the corners are bumped, with tiny emulsion losses.
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 present photograph shows a second view of the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada, at the eastern entrance to Death Valley.  Charis Wilson wrote of the experience, 'On a day that showed early promise of being clear and windless, we drove over Daylight Pass to Rhyolite in Nevada.   Here is the western ghost town at its nakedest.  Rhyolite's gold boom came in 1906; its death in 1907' (California and the West, p. 177).  The image here focuses on random walls of long-defunct buildings jutting up from the desert floor, all of which Weston has framed by the desert and mountains in the distance.  Conger notes that Weston made seven negatives during this excursion to Rhyolite.

In addition to a print in the Edward Weston Archive at the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, Conger locates only two other prints of this image: one in the Huntington Library, San Marino, the other a Project Print at Santa Cruz.