Lot Essay
In 1934, Weston met Charis Wilson who soon became his model and later his wife. During the early 1930s, prior to meeting Charis, Weston focused much of his attention on portraiture, moving away from the still-life work of the late 20s. In 1933-34 he turned to a series of female nudes and nude abstractions, including images of Charis. From 1935-37, Edward and Charis traveled from Santa Monica to the dunes of Oceano and in 1936, the same year he produced the famous series of Charis on the dunes, he began to record the dunes themselves. The sensuous lines of the sand molded by wind and shadow are reverberated in Charis' form outstretched in the desert. Yet the dunes are even more removed from the reality of place as Weston begins to abstract the landscape cropping out the sky in many images, excentuating the chiaroscuro effects of light and dark on the natural forms, much like the curves of the female form in the abstract studies of 1934-35.
In a letter dated August 6, 1981, Van Deren Coke writes that the photograph offered here, which he titles Black Dunes, was acquired directly from the photographer"in about 1938".
In a letter dated August 6, 1981, Van Deren Coke writes that the photograph offered here, which he titles Black Dunes, was acquired directly from the photographer"in about 1938".