Lot 73
- 73
Edward Weston
Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Edward Weston
- 'Nude on Sand (asleep)'
- Gelatin silver print
mounted, initialed and dated in pencil on the mount, numbered ‘228N’ in pencil on the reverse, 1936, printed no later than 1946; accompanied by the original invoice dated ‘July 12, 1946’ from The Museum of Modern Art, and a typed letter to Ichiro Misumi, on Museum letterhead dated ‘May 3, 1946’ and signed by Ann E. Armstrong of the Photographic Department (Conger 927) (3)
Provenance
Acquired by Ichiro Misumi from The Museum of Modern Art, 1946
By descent to the current owners
By descent to the current owners
Condition
This photograph is on paper with a semi-glossy surface. The detail present in the photograph, and Weston's masterful handling of the tonal values, make this a very pleasing print to look at. When the print is examined very closely some very slight fading and attendant faint yellowing can be seen on the print's edges. This is not immediately apparent, nor does it detract from the overwhelmingly fine appearance of this early print.
The photograph is mounted on stiff board that shows some minor age-darkening.
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.
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.
Catalogue Note
The group of Edward Weston photographs presented in Lots 73 through 76 comes originally from the collection of Ichiro Misumi, who purchased them from The Museum of Modern Art, and from Weston himself, in 1946. Born in Japan, Misumi came to America in 1919 with his parents and brother. By 1929, family records show that Ichiro Misumi’s father owned and operated the Universal Foto Finishing Studio at 973 Market Street in San Francisco.
Ichiro Misumi’s nephew has written about Ichiro Misumi, his purchase of these photographs, and their recent re-discovery:
‘I never knew my uncle, Ichiro Misumi, for he passed away just after I was born. He graduated from Stanford in 1933 and was studying to become a doctor when he became ill with tuberculosis and had to be hospitalized. When war broke out in 1942, his family was evacuated and interned in Gila River concentration camp in Arizona. He was not interned with the family, presumably because of his illness. The family was released early to Chicago, outside of the military exclusion zone, and eventually returned to San Francisco. The family owned a camera store at the time of the war and had to close the business and put everything in storage. When they got back to San Francisco, they started up their business again, although now specializing in custom photo-finishing. My father graduated from U. C. Berkeley with a chemistry degree and worked as a chemist while in Chicago. He was not able to find employment in the still-hostile and racist post-war climate, and so the photo-finishing business was the only means of supporting the family. I believe that my uncle Ichiro also helped to run the business after the war. Ichiro only lived a few more years after the war and died in 1955. The business thrived, and my father and mother ran it for many years before finally retiring in the 70s. Many of the items from the store were packed up and kept in the basement of their home for many years.
‘When my father died in 1994, we went through many of these items from the old store and came across some photos that had been on display in the reception room. These were set aside and put away until my mother’s passing, when they were re-discovered upon clearing out the house, and the Weston photos were found to be among them. Along with the photos, there was also correspondence between my uncle and Edward Weston and The Museum of Modern Art. Apparently these photos were purchased by my uncle from the Museum and Edward Weston personally. We do not know what motivated my uncle to do this. Having been in the photography business, he would have recognized the artistic value of the prints, but at $25 apiece the four photographs would have amounted to a very large sum of money in those days. This should have been considered an extravagance to a family still trying to rebuild their lives after being unjustly interned and forcibly removed from their homes for the duration of the war. As this generation of Japanese Americans were not very communicative with their families and did not write down their thoughts, this history is lost to us and we shall never know. In the Weston photos they left us a wonderful legacy, but I would trade it in an instant for the knowledge of our true family history and the hopes and dreams of our immigrant ancestors.’
According to Amy Conger, Weston’s retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art in the spring of 1946 featured about 250 photographs and resulted in the sale of 97 prints (p. 42). In contrast to today, in which the works of an artist in a museum exhibition are not for sale, early museum photographs exhibitions could be selling opportunities for the artist as well.
While it is not known how Misumi was first introduced to Weston’s work, a possible explanation may be offered by the popularity of Weston photographs among Japanese-Americans. According to Dennis Reed, expert on Japanese photography in America, the Japanese-American artists group, Shakudo-Sha, organized four exhibitions of Weston’s work in Los Angeles’s Japantown district in the 1920s and early 1930s (Japanese Photographers in America 1920-1940, pp. 33-39). These exhibitions were always positively received, and Weston noted in his Daybook, ‘Real Homage, deep respect always comes from the Japanese, –and concrete appreciation’ (Daybooks: California, p. 17).
The Los Angeles exhibitions resulted in what were, for a struggling Edward Weston, important sales. The aesthetic affinity between Edward Weston and his Japanese audience was significant. Indeed, as collectors, Japanese-Americans appear to have been among the first to respond to the work of an artist who would later be regarded as one of the seminal photographers of the twentieth century. In a letter to Johan Hagemeyer, Weston wrote: ‘I showed in the Japanese quarter—East 1st St. for three days—sold $140.00 worth of prints—the curiosity seekers amongst high “society” would never have done so well—never—I shall show there every year . . . One poor laundry worker borrowed the money and bought $52.00 worth’ (Conger, p. 13). In 1927, after having sold two prints to the Japanese photographer Kinsaku Asakura, Weston wrote in his Daybook, ‘How rarely I sell to Americans! How appreciative, understanding, and courteous the Japanese’ (Daybooks: California, p. 13-14).
Like Los Angeles, San Francisco had a vibrant community of Japanese artists, as well as an organization devoted specifically to photography, the Japanese Camera Club of San Francisco. Weston’s work was shown in no fewer than 20 exhibitions in the Bay Area from 1921 to 1942, and Ichiro Misumi may well have encountered Weston’s photographs before his family’s unjust internment.
The invoice that accompanies the present photograph documents its purchase by Ichiro Misumi from The Museum of Modern Art in July of 1946, following Edward Weston’s retrospective there in the spring. Also accompanying this lot is a letter from Ann Armstrong, acting curator Nancy Newhall’s assistant at the Museum, describing prices for Weston photographs and plans for his retrospective to travel to San Francisco in June 1946.
Ichiro Misumi’s nephew has written about Ichiro Misumi, his purchase of these photographs, and their recent re-discovery:
‘I never knew my uncle, Ichiro Misumi, for he passed away just after I was born. He graduated from Stanford in 1933 and was studying to become a doctor when he became ill with tuberculosis and had to be hospitalized. When war broke out in 1942, his family was evacuated and interned in Gila River concentration camp in Arizona. He was not interned with the family, presumably because of his illness. The family was released early to Chicago, outside of the military exclusion zone, and eventually returned to San Francisco. The family owned a camera store at the time of the war and had to close the business and put everything in storage. When they got back to San Francisco, they started up their business again, although now specializing in custom photo-finishing. My father graduated from U. C. Berkeley with a chemistry degree and worked as a chemist while in Chicago. He was not able to find employment in the still-hostile and racist post-war climate, and so the photo-finishing business was the only means of supporting the family. I believe that my uncle Ichiro also helped to run the business after the war. Ichiro only lived a few more years after the war and died in 1955. The business thrived, and my father and mother ran it for many years before finally retiring in the 70s. Many of the items from the store were packed up and kept in the basement of their home for many years.
‘When my father died in 1994, we went through many of these items from the old store and came across some photos that had been on display in the reception room. These were set aside and put away until my mother’s passing, when they were re-discovered upon clearing out the house, and the Weston photos were found to be among them. Along with the photos, there was also correspondence between my uncle and Edward Weston and The Museum of Modern Art. Apparently these photos were purchased by my uncle from the Museum and Edward Weston personally. We do not know what motivated my uncle to do this. Having been in the photography business, he would have recognized the artistic value of the prints, but at $25 apiece the four photographs would have amounted to a very large sum of money in those days. This should have been considered an extravagance to a family still trying to rebuild their lives after being unjustly interned and forcibly removed from their homes for the duration of the war. As this generation of Japanese Americans were not very communicative with their families and did not write down their thoughts, this history is lost to us and we shall never know. In the Weston photos they left us a wonderful legacy, but I would trade it in an instant for the knowledge of our true family history and the hopes and dreams of our immigrant ancestors.’
According to Amy Conger, Weston’s retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art in the spring of 1946 featured about 250 photographs and resulted in the sale of 97 prints (p. 42). In contrast to today, in which the works of an artist in a museum exhibition are not for sale, early museum photographs exhibitions could be selling opportunities for the artist as well.
While it is not known how Misumi was first introduced to Weston’s work, a possible explanation may be offered by the popularity of Weston photographs among Japanese-Americans. According to Dennis Reed, expert on Japanese photography in America, the Japanese-American artists group, Shakudo-Sha, organized four exhibitions of Weston’s work in Los Angeles’s Japantown district in the 1920s and early 1930s (Japanese Photographers in America 1920-1940, pp. 33-39). These exhibitions were always positively received, and Weston noted in his Daybook, ‘Real Homage, deep respect always comes from the Japanese, –and concrete appreciation’ (Daybooks: California, p. 17).
The Los Angeles exhibitions resulted in what were, for a struggling Edward Weston, important sales. The aesthetic affinity between Edward Weston and his Japanese audience was significant. Indeed, as collectors, Japanese-Americans appear to have been among the first to respond to the work of an artist who would later be regarded as one of the seminal photographers of the twentieth century. In a letter to Johan Hagemeyer, Weston wrote: ‘I showed in the Japanese quarter—East 1st St. for three days—sold $140.00 worth of prints—the curiosity seekers amongst high “society” would never have done so well—never—I shall show there every year . . . One poor laundry worker borrowed the money and bought $52.00 worth’ (Conger, p. 13). In 1927, after having sold two prints to the Japanese photographer Kinsaku Asakura, Weston wrote in his Daybook, ‘How rarely I sell to Americans! How appreciative, understanding, and courteous the Japanese’ (Daybooks: California, p. 13-14).
Like Los Angeles, San Francisco had a vibrant community of Japanese artists, as well as an organization devoted specifically to photography, the Japanese Camera Club of San Francisco. Weston’s work was shown in no fewer than 20 exhibitions in the Bay Area from 1921 to 1942, and Ichiro Misumi may well have encountered Weston’s photographs before his family’s unjust internment.
The invoice that accompanies the present photograph documents its purchase by Ichiro Misumi from The Museum of Modern Art in July of 1946, following Edward Weston’s retrospective there in the spring. Also accompanying this lot is a letter from Ann Armstrong, acting curator Nancy Newhall’s assistant at the Museum, describing prices for Weston photographs and plans for his retrospective to travel to San Francisco in June 1946.