Edward Weston & "model wife"

jtk · Nov 12, 2021

http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/2aa/2aa373b.htm

Does this brief essay describe Weston & Charis reasonably accurately?

Sirius Glass · Nov 12, 2021

Ed Weston was married before and was involved with Charis for a long time before he filed for divorce, I believe.

Alex Benjamin · Nov 12, 2021

We now have a pretty good documentary, "The Eloquent Nude" - in which she describes the relationship in her own words -
Goes much deeper into it than the three very short paragraphs in the text.

Pieter12 · Nov 12, 2021

Edward Weston had a number of affairs before meeting Charis. But I do think he was divorced long before that. A fascinating documentary-style recreation of him and Charis is the film "Eloquent Nude: The Love and Legacy of Edward Weston & Charis Wilson" Charis is on camera and narrates a lot of it.

BrianShaw · Nov 12, 2021

I didn’t find the article very interesting as it didn’t seem to say anything that hasn’t been previously well documented. How accurate it is… who knows. Perhaps the Weston who started an “Ask a Weston” thread on this forum would have better or different insight.

Pieter12 · Nov 12, 2021

Alex Benjamin said:
We now have a pretty good documentary, "The Eloquent Nude" - in which she describes the relationship in her own words -
Goes much deeper into it than the three very short paragraphs in the text.

I see I'm not the only one who's seen this.

Arthurwg · Nov 12, 2021

Wonderful write-up. I've always loved Charis. So incredibly beautiful.

Mike Lopez · Nov 12, 2021

Sirius Glass said:
Ed Weston was married before and was involved with Charis for a long time before he filed for divorce, I believe.

He never went by "Ed," and Charis was the one who formally took the steps to end their marriage. And yes, he was married well before Charis came along. (None of his sons were by her).

Mike Lopez · Nov 12, 2021

Pieter12 said:
...But I do think he was divorced long before that...

Yes, Charis did not bear any of his sons. I've often felt sympathy for his first wife, left behind while he headed off to Mexico.

Mike Lopez · Nov 12, 2021

Pieter12 said:
I see I'm not the only one who's seen this.

It played to a packed house in Portland when it debuted in 2007. And Charis attended screenings of it and Q&A sessions before her passing. Great film.

bdial · Nov 12, 2021

The film is well worth watching.

Another source is Charis’s book Through another lens
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/w/wilson-lens.html

Jim Jones · Nov 13, 2021

The book Through Another Lens [1998] and the DVD Eloquent Nude are among the best sources of information about Weston. The DVD has a 60 minute main feature and supplements that are longer and, to me, more informative. California and the West [1940] by Charis and Edward Weston cover their travels during the Guggenheim Fellowship travels. During much of his career Edward contributed articles to several photography magazines. Many of these are collected in Edward Weston [1983], edited by Peter Bunnell. He even wrote a poem titled The Gummist, lambasting those who printed in gum bichromate. I copied it from a photo journal of about a hundred years ago, but have misplaced the source.

The Gummist

Edward H. Weston

With Apologies to Rudyard Kipling, Author of “The Vampire”

A “gummist’ there was and he made his prayer
(Even as you and I!)
To some paint and some gum and a “badger-hair.”
(We called his messing a daub “for fair”)
But the “gummist” he called it his “art-work” rare
((even as you and I!)

O, the paint we did waste and the “tears” we did waste
And the prints that were always “slammed,”
By “would-be” critics who did not know
(And now we know that they never could know)
And did not understand.

A “gummist” there was and his coin he spent
(Even as you and I!)
Paper and paint to his last red cent
(While his land-lady dunned him for “past-due” rent)
(Even as you and I!)

O, the stain we got, and the flaky spot
And the bubble we cheerfully damned,
Belong to the day when we didn’t know why
The stock-house welcomed our efforts to buy
But now we understand!

The “gummist” he sweat through his foolish hide
(Even as you and I!)
While the highlights he scrubbed till they almost cried--
(With a bristle-brush none to softly applied)
When the print was “done,” friends threw it aside
(Even as you and I!)

And it isn’t the worst that his feelings at first
Should a little calming demand--
It’s coming to know that folks never knew why
(Such doping and faking a “gummist” should try)
And never could understand.

David Lindquist · Nov 13, 2021

jtk said:
http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/2aa/2aa373b.htm

Does this brief essay describe Weston & Charis reasonably accurately?

Perhaps a minor error in the context of this thread but Edward Weston was born in 1886 not 1888.

And thank you for this, I need to read this essay and this thread more closely when I can.

David

jtk · Nov 13, 2021

I'd imagine that most adult photographers have/have-had strongly influential sex-mates....and even "wives" (or equivalent).

I don't think Ansel had much interest along those lines....but every other great and not-so-great photographer has found influential mates crucial.

Arthurwg · Nov 13, 2021

I do wonder how the archival footage was made, by whom and under what circumstances.

BrianShaw · Nov 13, 2021

jtk said:
I'd imagine that most adult photographers have/have-had strongly influential sex-mates....and even "wives" (or equivalent).

I don't think Ansel had much interest along those lines....but every other great and not-so-great photographer has found influential mates crucial.

Who was Virginia? Not a model (that we know of) but apparently a wife and (hopefully) sexmate.

Valerie · Nov 13, 2021

Thanks to this thread, I remembered that I had Wilson's book on my bookshelf. (A used book that has an inscription from Wilson's co-author!) Took it down last night and began reading (immediately after having finished Mortensen's The Command to Look) And the documentary is on a shortlist of things to watch. Thanks jtk!

Alex Benjamin · Nov 13, 2021

jtk said:
I don't think Ansel had much interest along those lines...

Ansel Adams was married to Virginia Best. It's through her that he got to know Yosemite - so yes, quite an influential mate.

Portrait of her and her life with Ansel Adams here: https://www.anseladams.com/virginia-best-adams-wife-ansel-adams/

Mike Lopez · Nov 13, 2021

jtk said:
I'd imagine that most adult photographers have/have-had strongly influential sex-mates....and even "wives" (or equivalent).

I don't think Ansel had much interest along those lines....but every other great and not-so-great photographer has found influential mates crucial.

The first counter-example to this statement that comes to mind, among others, is Brett Weston. He married and divorced multiple times, and none of his wives were crucial to his work. He simply kept producing great photographs through it all.

markjwyatt · Nov 13, 2021

Arthurwg said:
I do wonder how the archival footage was made, by whom and under what circumstances.

I was wondering that, too. Maybe a recreation?

Mike Lopez · Nov 13, 2021

markjwyatt said:
I was wondering that, too. Maybe a recreation?

Yes. Actors.

Pieter12 · Nov 13, 2021

Aah, the sex lives of famous photographers. Weston had many lovers, most started as his models. Berenice Abbott had many female lovers, Avedon stayed pretty much in the closet. Then there are those who married and (as far as is known) stayed faithful: Irving Penn and Lisa Fonssagrives, Lee Friedlander and Maria de Paoli. Probably would make for an interesting thread.

Arthurwg · Nov 13, 2021

Mike Lopez said:
Yes. Actors.

Do you know this for a fact?

DonW · Nov 13, 2021

Why all this interest in whether someone was married our not, had sex with their spouse or not, was faithful or not blah blah blah. Has your lives become that petty that this is worth your interest?

BrianShaw · Nov 13, 2021

DonW said:
Why all this interest in whether someone was married our not, had sex with their spouse or not, was faithful or not blah blah blah. Has your lives become that petty that this is worth your interest?

Seems like idle curiosity more than voyeurism. At least l this is better than discussing what junk mail is in one’s inbox.

Edward Weston & "model wife"

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