mounted, signed and dated by the photographer in pencil on the mount, numbered '52SO' by the photographer in pencil on the reverse, matted, 1936

The photographer to Jean and Zohmah Charlot

Zohmah Charlot to Stephen White Gallery, ❀L🧸os Angeles, early 1980s

Acquired by the present owner from the abov🔯e, early 198𒁃0s

Another print of this image:

Conger 948

This astounding print, with a wide array of soft-gray tones, reveals the slightest white highlight and the deepest black hidden amongst the sand. The photograph is on paper with a slightly glossy surface. It is in excellent condition. When examined closely, in high raking light the following are visible: a 1/4-inch vertical surface scratch at the center right, lightly breaking the emulsion; a few very small hairline scuffs at the center left; three pencil-point-sized impressions at the center left; and faint silvering in the darkest areas of the print (appropriate for a print of this age), giving the print a somewhat solarized appearance. In None of these is immediately apparent, and they are impossible to see from a normal viewing distance. The mount is thin, cream-colored board with a smooth - but not slick - surface on the front and back. The edges and corners are very lightly worn. The front of the mount has a few light handling marks and some light soiling along the top margin and at the bottom left corner. The back of the mount has light soiling along the top and bottom edge. There are two light-green, leaf-shaped pieces of linen tape adhered to the top edge. There is also a 4-inch strip of brown paper tape adhered to the corner of the bottom edge. At the left side, on the back, there is a 1½-by one-inch area of loss to the mount's top paper ply. The back of the mount is annotated 'FK6, 1' in pencil in an unidentified hand.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The photograph offered here, i🦄n Lot 13, and possibly those in Lots 7 and 184, come originally from the collection of Jean and Zohmah Charlot.  The French artist Jean Charlot (1898 - 1979) met Edward Weston in Mexico in the 1920s, and became a lifelong friend. In 1931, Charlot was introduced to the vivacious Zohmah Day, whom he married in 1939.  There are individual Weston portraits of both Zohmah and Jean from 1933 (Conger 761 and 762), when they visited Weston in Carmel, as well as photographs of them at Point Lobos shortly after their wedding (Conger 1473).  

Extant prints of the present dune study are scarce.  Conger accounts for only two: a later project print in the collection of theဣ University of California at Santa Cruz, and a print in the collection of the University of California at Los Angeles, this latter print inscribed by Weston on the reverse,

'To Charis/ Dunes/ Nu🦩des/ Sky/ Sea/ Yr. Edward' (quoted in Conger 948). 

Conger relates the present st༒udy to another Weston dune, negative number 45SO, which she describes as 'a study in whites' (Conger 944). 

The photograph offered here, as well as those in Lots 7, 13, and 184, were acquired by th🍌e present owner in the early 1980s from the Stephen White Gallery in Los Angeles, one of the first fine art photographs galleries in the United States.  Founded in 1975, the Stephen White Gallery began working with Zohmah Charlot in 1981, at the suggestion of the photographer Dody Thompson, the second wife of B🌞rett Weston. White sold many superb Edward Weston photographs on Mrs. Charlot's behalf over the years, and their friendship continued after the gallery closed in 1990.