Dec 5, 2024 11:00 EST
Fine Art & Photographs
![Lot 240 - Edward Weston Nude, [Charis], Santa Monica, 1936](https://goauctiondoyle.blob.core.windows.net/stock/2043361-1-medium.jpg?v=63867222204017 "Click for high resolution")
![Lot 240 - Edward Weston Nude, [Charis], Santa Monica, 1936](https://goauctiondoyle.blob.core.windows.net/stock/2043361-1-small.jpg?v=63867222204017)
![Lot 240 - Edward Weston Nude, [Charis], Santa Monica, 1936](https://goauctiondoyle.blob.core.windows.net/stock/2043361-2-small.jpg?v=63867222205033)
![Lot 240 - Edward Weston Nude, [Charis], Santa Monica, 1936](https://goauctiondoyle.blob.core.windows.net/stock/2043361-3-small.jpg?v=63867222205560)
240
Edward Weston Nude, [Charis], Santa Monica, 1936
Estate / Collection: The Estate of LeGrand Mellon
WESTON, EDWARD (1886–1958)
Nude, [Charis], Santa Monica, 1936, likely printed early 1940s. Gelatin silver print, dry-mounted to card, 9 1/2 x 7 5/8 inches (243 x 193 mm), initialed "EW" and dated at lower right in pencil, the mount verso with full signature and title in Weston's hand in pencil, negative number 227 N in pencil at upper right, the "Art Lending Service of the Museum of Modern Art" label completed in typewriter mounted at upper right. Minor silvering noted to extreme edges of print, several minuscule indentations noted in raking light, not breaking the emulsion (most of these pinpoint, and probably in the emulsion itself).
Fully signed lifetime prints of Weston's magnificent nude portrait of his wife-to-be Charis are quite rare in commerce. In the early 1940s, when the present example was likely prepared, Weston had stopped signing the front mount with his full signature and negative date, using initials and negative date. He had written "I will be more widely acclaimed and my work sought for after I am gone. I must realize that every print I send out (God forgive the portraits) with my signature is going to be severely criticized by those who know" (from the Daybooks, 1930). As his Parkinsonism progressed and his writing became more labored, this must have become ever more a concern. In the earlier part of the decade, he still signed and titled the reverse of the mounts, as was done here, stopping even that in the late 1940s. Fully signed later lifetime prints of this, one of the most iconic photographs of the twentieth century, are quite rare and exceptionally desirable.
Merle Armitage, Fifty Photographs: Edward Weston (New York, 1947), pl. 21
Ben Maddow, Edward Weston: Fifty Years (Aperture, 1973), p. 267
Amy Conger, The Form of the Nude (New York, 2005), p. 97
Nancy Newhall, The Flame of Recognition (Aperture, 1965), p. 65
Brett Abbott, Edward Weston’s Book of Nudes (J. Paul Getty Museum, 2007), pl. 39
Charis Wilson, Edward Weston: Nudes (Aperture, 1993), p. 82
Sold for $70,350
Estimated at $20,000 - $30,000
Includes Buyer's Premium
Estate / Collection: The Estate of LeGrand Mellon
WESTON, EDWARD (1886–1958)
Nude, [Charis], Santa Monica, 1936, likely printed early 1940s. Gelatin silver print, dry-mounted to card, 9 1/2 x 7 5/8 inches (243 x 193 mm), initialed "EW" and dated at lower right in pencil, the mount verso with full signature and title in Weston's hand in pencil, negative number 227 N in pencil at upper right, the "Art Lending Service of the Museum of Modern Art" label completed in typewriter mounted at upper right. Minor silvering noted to extreme edges of print, several minuscule indentations noted in raking light, not breaking the emulsion (most of these pinpoint, and probably in the emulsion itself).
Fully signed lifetime prints of Weston's magnificent nude portrait of his wife-to-be Charis are quite rare in commerce. In the early 1940s, when the present example was likely prepared, Weston had stopped signing the front mount with his full signature and negative date, using initials and negative date. He had written "I will be more widely acclaimed and my work sought for after I am gone. I must realize that every print I send out (God forgive the portraits) with my signature is going to be severely criticized by those who know" (from the Daybooks, 1930). As his Parkinsonism progressed and his writing became more labored, this must have become ever more a concern. In the earlier part of the decade, he still signed and titled the reverse of the mounts, as was done here, stopping even that in the late 1940s. Fully signed later lifetime prints of this, one of the most iconic photographs of the twentieth century, are quite rare and exceptionally desirable.
Merle Armitage, Fifty Photographs: Edward Weston (New York, 1947), pl. 21
Ben Maddow, Edward Weston: Fifty Years (Aperture, 1973), p. 267
Amy Conger, The Form of the Nude (New York, 2005), p. 97
Nancy Newhall, The Flame of Recognition (Aperture, 1965), p. 65
Brett Abbott, Edward Weston’s Book of Nudes (J. Paul Getty Museum, 2007), pl. 39
Charis Wilson, Edward Weston: Nudes (Aperture, 1993), p. 82
Photographs
Auction: Fine Art & Photographs, Dec 5, 2024
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Successful Auction of Fine Art on December 5, 2024
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Works Spanning the Post-War Years to the Present Day by Established and Emerging Artists
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
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We Invite You to Contact Us for a Complimentary Auction Evaluation of Your Fine Art
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle held a successful sale in the popular Fine Art auction category on December 5, 2024. Showcased were paintings, prints and sculpture spanning the Post-War years to the present day by established and emerging artists.
Jamini Roy's Black Horse was a highlight of the sale receiving multiple bids internationally and selling for $8,960 against an estimate of $5,000-7,000. A wonderful example of artist's practice of blending Bengali patachitra paintings with flattened modernist elements, Roy's work has received new acclaim in recent years for ushering a unique identify for Indian art in modernist era. Declared a national treasure under Indian law, collectors are increasingly vying to acquire a work by him on the international art market.
Robert Moore Kulicke was a renaissance man with a deep understanding of the history of art and a reverence for the art of his own time. He was a master frame-maker, designing frames for Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, and MoMA, as well as making period frames for works by Giotto and Leonardo da Vinci. Kulicke was also a renowned goldsmith who excelled in the art of cloisonné. And of course, he was a painter. His still lifes evoke Morandi with their quiet solitude and Manet with jewel-like colors set against rich greys. These qualities are on full display in Wildflowers in a Glass Jar with Fallen Blossom, which sold for $12,160 more than doubling its estimate of $3,000-5,000.
We Invite You to Auction!
Consignments are currently being accepted for future auctions. We invite you to contact us for a complimentary auction evaluation. Our specialists are always available to discuss the sale of a single item or an entire collection.
For information, please contact
Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture: Paintings@Doyle.com
Prints & Multiples: Prints@Doyle.com
