Nautilus

1927

Not on view

Like their painter counterparts, many photographers experimented with abstraction in the 1920s and 1930s, exploring relations of form, tonality, and space. Here, Weston isolates a nautilus shell against a solid black ground, creating a study of curves, subtle shadows, and contrasts between light and dark. As in many of his close-ups of natural forms, the nautilus appears both recognizable and yet strangely unfamiliar. Unlike the rigorously nonrepresentational compositions of photographers like László Moholy-Nagy, Weston’s abstractions always remained grounded in objects from the real world; as he wrote in 1930, "To see the Thing Itself is essential."

Artwork Details

Title: Nautilus
Artist: Edward Weston (American, Highland Park, Illinois 1886–1958 Carmel, California)
Date: 1927
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Dimensions: Image: 24.8 x 18.8 cm (9 3/4 x 7 3/8 in.)
Mount: 34.7 × 30.1 cm (13 11/16 × 11 7/8 in.)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Gilman Collection, Purchase, Jennifer and Joseph Duke Gift, 2005
Object Number: 2005.100.711
Rights and Reproduction: © Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents
Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

By Edward Weston

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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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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