[Two Boys Playing in a Stream]

Friends and colleagues were important sources of inspiration for Edward Weston throughout his life. Particularly in his early career, Weston's intellectual and artistic circles, which included a community of California photographers, poets, writers, and sculptors, provided an environment in which his creative energies could thrive. He made portraits of many of his closest associates. The photographs he created of friends were more experimental and artistic in nature than those he made for studio clients; for the portraits of his friends, Weston capitalized on dramatic lighting, full-frame composition, and hand gestures to capture something more complex than simply his sitter's visage.

The photographer Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976) had created a large body of Pictorial and Symbolist works during the teens and was, like Weston, moving toward new modes of expression in the twenties. Here he captured her in a dappled light typical of her own early prints, creating a portrait that pays dual homage to the photographer and her work.

Brett Abbott. Edward Weston, In Focus: Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2005), 22. ©2005, J. Paul Getty Trust.