Brett Weston (1911–1993) was an American photographer who followed in the footsteps of his father, Edward Weston, becoming one of the leading figures of 20th-century American photography. His work is characterized by stark, minimalist compositions and masterful use of light and shadow to create dramatic and evocative images.
Brett Weston was the second of the four sons of photographer Edward Weston and Flora Chandler and began taking photographs in 1925 while living in Mexico with Tina Modotti and his father. At the young age of 17, he was featured at the international exhibition at Film und Foto in Germany. By the time he was 21, he had already mounted his first one-man museum retrospective at the De Young Museum in San Francisco in January 1932.
Weston’s earliest images from the 1920s reflect an intuitive and sophisticated sense of abstraction. He developed a preference for high-gloss papers and sharp clarity, favoring the gelatin silver photographic materials of the f64 Group over the platinum matte photographic papers common in the 1920s. Throughout the decades of the 1950s and 1970s, his style evolved sharply, characterized by high contrast and abstract imagery. His subjects included plant leaves, knotted roots, and tangled kelp along the beach, which he captured in close-ups and abstracted details. His prints often reduced subjects to pure forms through high contrast.
Brett Weston was the second of the four sons of photographer Edward Weston and Flora Chandler and began taking photographs in 1925 while living in Mexico with Tina Modotti and his father. At the young age of 17, he was featured at the international exhibition at Film und Foto in Germany. By the time he was 21, he had already mounted his first one-man museum retrospective at the De Young Museum in San Francisco in January 1932.
Weston’s earliest images from the 1920s reflect an intuitive and sophisticated sense of abstraction. He developed a preference for high-gloss papers and sharp clarity, favoring the gelatin silver photographic materials of the f64 Group over the platinum matte photographic papers common in the 1920s. Throughout the decades of the 1950s and 1970s, his style evolved sharply, characterized by high contrast and abstract imagery. His subjects included plant leaves, knotted roots, and tangled kelp along the beach, which he captured in close-ups and abstracted details. His prints often reduced subjects to pure forms through high contrast.
