Weston at AIC

[Merg Ross]

The portfolio "Six Nudes of Neil" are palladium prints made by George Tice in 1977 from EW negatives of 1925. So,it is true that not all prints are by EW, Cole or Brett. However, I still question printing by assistants relative to silver gelatin exhibition prints.

[Micah Marty]

Here's the exact wording re: the prints in the exhibit, copied from a card on the north wall of the exhibit at the Art Institute:

[In addition to Brett] "Toward the end of his career, Edward Weston also had the help of his son Cole and other assistants in printing his work."

As far as I can recall, all of the prints in the exhibit (including those alluded to in the quote above) are signed and dated in pencil by EW.

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[Doug Paramore]

I have a copy of a book titled "Darkroom2", by Lustrum press published in 1978, in which there is a long article by Cole Weston about printing his father's negatives. Cole stated that he and Brett are the only two people besides Edward who ever printed his negatives. I don't know where the museum got the "and others". Cole states that Edward Weston signed both his full name and E.W. to prints made by Edward, but in later years he used his full name. Later prints made by either Cole or Brett were initialed E.W. This is a fascinating article on the materials used by both Edward and Cole, as well as the darkroom setup.

Regards,

[Michael Feldman]

I suspect that Weston (like Adams) had darkroom assistants, but the photographer was always present and supervised the entire printing process. Of course, I am not refering to prints made (and so signified on the back) by Brett and Cole without Edward present.

[tim atherton]

I'm just reading Charis Wilsons autobiography about her time with Weston (obviously prior to this period), but as UI recall so far, the only one who helped out was Brett - I don't think she did at the time.

Interesting book BTW

I still think one of the best EW images is her floating in the pool...

Tim A

[Merg Ross]

Doug- Thank You. I believe you have put this matter to rest. Let us accept Cole as the final arbiter, as I suggested earlier. There were assistants at the time Brett was printing EW negatives but they were, as noted by Fred Leif, involved with the later stages of print finishing. I remember Dody being very involved and Morley and Francis Baer may also have been as they were often present when I visited Edward during this period. The rewriting of history will persist but perhaps with the help of living witnesses we can get it right. Regards, Merg Ross

[Merg Ross]

That should be Frances Baer, his wife.

[Michael Feldman]

In a biography of Edward Weston by Ben Maddow, there is a Selected Chronology of Weston's life on pages 123-124 of the paperback edition. There is an entry for 1948/1958 as follows:

"Worked on printing 1000 selected negatives. (This project was never actually finished. The prints were made under Weston's direction, but done by Brett, Cole, and Dody Warren.)"

Of course, the above quote does not specifically mention the exact tasks that Dody Warren performed during the printing process (exposure, development, fixing, mounting, etc.). In the text of the biography, Dody Warren is described as Weston's assistant starting in 1948 when his Parkinson's disease had already begun to limit his activities. She lived in Weston's home at Walnut Hill for almost three years except for one eight-month absence. Weston died in 1958. Maddow's biography of Weston was nominated in 1975 for the National Book Award.

[Merg Ross]

The Maddow book, according to Brett and Cole, was full of inaccuracies. Dody lived in "Bodie House", a detached cottage in the front yard.

[Michael Feldman]

The Maddow biography of EW simply says that Dody lived at "Walnut Hill" for the period mentioned. So the assumption that it was "Weston's" house (as opposed to the cottage) is my mistake. Given that she lived on the property and was EW's assistant, it is reasonable to assume that she did some photographic work. I believe that Merg implied as much in his earlier post.