“I made several dune negatives that mark a new epoch in my work. I must go back there—the material made for me!” – Edward Weston

Edward Weston began his iconic series of studies of the dunes at Oceano in 1934 when he first visited the area. In his daybook entry for 20 April, he wrote: ‘I made several dune negatives that mark a new epoch in my work. I must go back there—the material made for me!’ The massive dunes at Oceano created an ever-shifting landscape of pure and unadorned form, and the subject matter was ideally suited to Weston’s vision. In a state of constant change, reshaped continuously by wind and water, the dunes presented completely new subject matter to Weston on each visit over the ensuing years.

The photograph offered here—frequently referred to by the alternate title Black Dunes— is one of the most celebrated and most distinctive from the series. It is remarkable for its preponderance of shadows which add depth and drama to the image, and for Weston’s meticulous management of sunlight to enhance the detail in the foreground and to delineate the ridge lines that recede into the distance. Weston included the image in his celebrated retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1946, and it was shown in The World of Edward Weston, an exhibition curated by Beaumont and Nancy Newhall which originated at the Smithsonian Institution in 1956 and traveled to other venues.

This print was originally acquired from Weston by photographer, curator, and author Van Deren Coke (1921-2004). Coke met Weston as a young man in 1938, and continued his friendship with the photographer until Weston’s death. When this photograph first appeared at auction in 1997, the catalogue entry referenced a 1981 letter written by Coke stating that he got this photograph from Weston ‘in about 1938.’