Circus Tent

1924

Not on view

After meeting Alfred Stieglitz and Paul Strand on a visit to New York in 1922, Weston abandoned his early Pictorialist style for the purified formal rigor of straight photography. On March 2, 1924, Weston went with friends to attend a circus performance in Mexico and returned later to photograph the tent. He described this and one of the two other negatives he made there as "pleasant and beautiful abstractions, intellectual juggleries," and this image was cited by the painter Diego Rivera as one of his favorite prints by Weston. With its simple lines and airy upward sweep, it is easy to understand why the artists held it in such high esteem.

Artwork Details

Title: Circus Tent
Artist: Edward Weston (American, Highland Park, Illinois 1886–1958 Carmel, California)
Date: 1924
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Dimensions: 23.6 x 18.1 cm (9 5/16 x 7 1/8 in.)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987
Object Number: 1987.1100.250
Rights and Reproduction: © Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents
Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

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Dead Pelican, Point Lobos, Edward Weston American, Gelatin silver print — Dead Pelican, Point Lobos
Edward Weston
1942

Clouds, Death Valley, Edward Weston American, Gelatin silver print — Clouds, Death Valley
Edward Weston
1939

Church Door, Hornitos, Edward Weston American, Gelatin silver print — Church Door, Hornitos
Edward Weston
1940

Grass, Edward Weston American, Gelatin silver print — Grass
Edward Weston
1941–42

Toadstool, Edward Weston American, Gelatin silver print — Toadstool
Edward Weston
1931

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