Lot Essay
Weston's first interest in the pepper as a subject came in 1927, not long after his return to California from Mexico. The Mexican period was important in organizing his way of seeing. Trudy Wilner Stack observes, "...it was not until Mexico that Weston addressed the object for itself, in isolation from a scene, tableau, or other multi-part composition. Rather than setting subjects off in relation to each other, building a picture piece by piece like a painter, Weston embraced his subject whole, gathering it fully within the frame, flush with the exisiting form that so excited him...In his Mexican home he made photographs; strong, personal images of what surrounded him: toilet, washbasin, the figure and face of his companion and lover, small handmade toys and folk art objects, fruit. He thought these subjects were beautiful and exquisite in and of themselves and recorded them plainly, accentuating their form and character with his fine technique and carefully chosen views." Weston continued to develop this vision upon his return to California, choosing to focus much of his professional and personal work on nudes and still-lifes. (Forms of Passion, pp. 135-136.)
It was not until 1929 that he took up the pepper again as a subject. Becoming increasingly fascinated by the varied forms of the pepper, he recorded making twenty-six negatives. "I have been working so enthusiastically with the two peppers,-stimulated as I have not been for months...They are like sculpture, carved obsidian, and can be placed with my finest expression." The peppers from this period are set against a neutral background of muslin or cardboard. (Daybooks II, pp. 128-131.)
In 1930 Weston continued his investigation of the pepper, producing nearly thirty different images during a four day period in August. It was during this final period, that Weston discovered a new setting for the object, a tin funnel.
"It was a bright idea, a perfect relief for the pepper and adding reflecting light to important contours. I still had the pepper which caused me a week's work, I had decided I could go no further with it, yet something kept me from taking it to the kitchen, the end of all good peppers. I placed it in the funnel, focussed with the Zeiss, and, knowing just the viewpoint, recognizing a perfect light, made an exposure of six minutes, with but a few moments' preliminary work, the real preliminary was done in hours passed. I have a great negative, - by far the best!" Here Weston describes Pepper #30 of which he would make at least twenty-five prints, becoming his most desireable pepper image. (Daybooks II, p. 180)
In 1934, Weston photographed the actress Beatrice Straight, at which time she may have acquired this print. In 1977, Straight was presented with the Oscar for Best-Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1976 film Network in which she starred with Faye Dunaway. Network also won the Academy Award for Best Film.
It was not until 1929 that he took up the pepper again as a subject. Becoming increasingly fascinated by the varied forms of the pepper, he recorded making twenty-six negatives. "I have been working so enthusiastically with the two peppers,-stimulated as I have not been for months...They are like sculpture, carved obsidian, and can be placed with my finest expression." The peppers from this period are set against a neutral background of muslin or cardboard. (Daybooks II, pp. 128-131.)
In 1930 Weston continued his investigation of the pepper, producing nearly thirty different images during a four day period in August. It was during this final period, that Weston discovered a new setting for the object, a tin funnel.
"It was a bright idea, a perfect relief for the pepper and adding reflecting light to important contours. I still had the pepper which caused me a week's work, I had decided I could go no further with it, yet something kept me from taking it to the kitchen, the end of all good peppers. I placed it in the funnel, focussed with the Zeiss, and, knowing just the viewpoint, recognizing a perfect light, made an exposure of six minutes, with but a few moments' preliminary work, the real preliminary was done in hours passed. I have a great negative, - by far the best!" Here Weston describes Pepper #30 of which he would make at least twenty-five prints, becoming his most desireable pepper image. (Daybooks II, p. 180)
In 1934, Weston photographed the actress Beatrice Straight, at which time she may have acquired this print. In 1977, Straight was presented with the Oscar for Best-Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1976 film Network in which she starred with Faye Dunaway. Network also won the Academy Award for Best Film.