Nautilus

Edward Weston American
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

Object Information
  • 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

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