Forty-six photographs by Brett Weston (1911-1993) have been added to the Amon Carter Museum of American Art collection. Weston is one of the most recognized American photographers of the 20th century. This addition, a gracious gift from the Christian Keesee Collection, will increase the Amon Carter?s current holdings of Brett Weston?s vivid work. Key works from the different parts of Weston?s career will be included.
?The acquisition helps us better communicate Brett Weston?s artistic achievements, especially his diverse exploration of graphic form,? says John Rohrbach, senior curator of photographs. ?His astute ability to blend photographic realism into abstraction remains a touchstone of the medium?s modernist achievement.?
Brett Weston was one of legendary photographer Edward Weston?s four sons. Each followed their father to become artist-photographers, but Brett, through considerable encouragement from his father, completely embraced this lifestyle and developed the most acclaim for his work.
?Brett Weston?s artistic legacy has been entwined with the Amon Carter since our early days,? says Andrew J. Walker, director. ?The museum?s first director, Mitchell Wilder, corresponded with him in the 1960s as several of his father?s works entered the collection,?followed by the exhibition Photographs of Edward Weston in 1965. In 1966, Wilder curated Brett Weston: Photographs, an exhibition of 100 works.?
The body of the acquisition will include Weston?s abstract photographs, from the period he is most known for. At this time Weston was under the influence of Abstract Expressionism and Ansel Adams?s use of increased contrast. Weston increased the contrast of his images to draw more attention to the world?s patterns. The acquisition will also include key examples of his work from his time in San Francisco in the 1930s when he was trying to separate himself from his father?s work by using urban themes. ?A street scene created by the young photographer called Buildings and Power Lines, San Francisco is reminiscent of Edward Hopper?s paintings in its strongly angled light, boxy architecture and palpably anxious emptiness,? notes Rohrbach. ?When considering Brett Weston, we generally do not think of city views and certainly not views of New York,? says Rohrbach. ?However, several of the photographs in this significant gift show him fascinated with New York City?s overlapping form, much like Paul Strand and Alfred Stieglitz before him.? Many photos in the new addition also show Weston?s love for the island of Hawaii, where he spent most of the last ten years of his life.
Focal Points: New to the Photography Collection, will be on view through January 18. This exhibit reveals how artists have embraced and examined the nation?s lasting ideal of being a land of opportunity. Weston?s photograph, the newly acquired Wire and Glass (1974) will be included in this exhibition. Amon Carter visitors will have a second opportunity to view Weston?s work in the fall of 2016 in an exhibit featuring photographs from the collection.