Edward Weston (1886-1958)

New record for Edward Weston confirms 137% price surge for the master of modern American photography.

Edward Weston was 16 when he visited a photography exhibition at the Chicago Art Institute and was given his first camera by his father. His abilities as a photographer soon became apparent. From 1906, his images started appearing in magazines such as Camera and Darkroom. In 1911 he opened a studio in California. His work met with great commercial success, and he had six pictures accepted by the London Salon in 1914. In 1922 he met Alfred Stieglitz in New York. A year later, after a long stay in Mexico during which he befriended the painter, Diego Rivera, he completely transformed his style, achieving a new aesthetic quality. Removed from their normal context, his female nudes, peppers, tree roots, clouds and landscapes took on a new dimension. As well as searching out new forms, he turned towards precise and realistic photography. In 1932 he founded “Group f/64” with Ansel Adams. The MoMA dedicated a major retrospective to his work in 1946. Suffering from Parkinson’s disease, he retired in 1948, and died ten years later.

Artworks at auctions

Edward Weston’s works are in plentiful supply at auctions, especially as, working with his son Brett, he reprinted almost 800 negatives from 1952 onwards. There are usually between 50 and 80 of his images offered at auction each year. Exceptional editions of vintage images can change hands for more than USD 100,000. On 17 October 2003, Two Shells, a signed work from 1927, fetched USD 410,000 at Sotheby’s, beating the previous record of USD 280,000, set in 1998 for the 1924 image Circus Tent. His later prints are a lot less expensive. Collectors can reckon on about USD 2,000–3,000 for a posthumous work published by Cole Weston in the 1970s. 70% of the artist’s work goes for less than EUR 16,000.

The market places

As for markets, 93% of photographs sold, sell in the US. All price ranges come up. A few fine works are sometimes offered in London, for example Steel, which went for GBP 92,000 in May 2001. Collectors may also be able to find a number of prints in Germany. in Milan.

Buy or sell

Edward Weston’s price index has been among the biggest gainers of 2003, rising 137% over the first half year. EUR 100 euros invested in an Edward Weston photograph in 1997 would be worth EUR 263 today. This exceptional surge in price culminated in the recent record set by Two Shells, USD 110,00 above its high estimate. The gains are all the more significant in that they came after two years of falling prices and five years of stagnation. In the first half of 2003, 86% of the images offered at auction found a buyer, as opposed to only 65% in 2002. The very few no-sales were mainly Weston’s later work. Having surged so strongly, the current price offers only a meagre chance of quick gains.

    Edward Henry WESTONArtprice Indexall media categories, base January 1997 = 100   Edward Henry WESTONLots sold at auctions  Edward Henry WESTONAuction sales turnover 1999-2002 / weight by country © Artprice