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Nude

Edward Weston American

Not on view

The nude as a subject for the camera would occupy Edward Weston’s attention for four decades, and it is a defining characteristic of his achievement and legacy. This physically small but forceful, closely cropped photograph is a study of the writer Charis Wilson. Although presented headless and legless, Wilson tightly crosses her arms in a bold power pose. Weston was so stunned by Wilson when they first met that he ceased writing in his diary the day after he made this photograph: “April 22 [1934], a day to always remember. I knew now what was coming; eyes don’t lie and she wore no mask...I was lost and have been ever since.” Wilson and Weston immediately moved in together and married five years later.

Nude, Edward Weston (American, Highland Park, Illinois 1886–1958 Carmel, California), Gelatin silver print

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