The Heckscher Museum of Art

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1 The Heckscher Museum of Art SPECIAL EXHIBITION RESOURCE GUIDE FOR TEACHERS MAY 7 - JULY 24, 2011 WHAT S INSIDE About the Exhibition... 1 About Edward Weston...2 Exhibition-Related Websites and Books... 4 Vocabulary... 5 Pre- and Post-Visit Activities... 6 Also On View... 7 Explore the Collection Prime Avenue Huntington, NY For images of select artwork in this exhibition, click here, or go to Click Exhibitions, choose Current, Past or Upcoming, and select Edward Weston: Life Work.

2 ABOUT THE EXHIBITION Edward Weston: Life Work What will students see? 60 photographs by Edward Weston Artwork dating from 1908 to 1948 The exhibition is divided into the following sections: Early Work Mexico Still Life Portraits Nudes Early Landscapes Late Landscapes This retrospective exhibition surveys the 50-year career of a giant of 20th century photography. Whether exploring still life, the human face, the landscape, or the nude, Weston s goal was never a literal recording. Rather, his photographs capture the rhythms, patterns, and interconnections between nature and human experience. Weston s photographs are renowned for their fine print quality and the rich black and white scale the photographer achieved during printing. All the photographs in the exhibition are vintage, produced by Weston shortly after he shot the image, and therefore represent his original vision. Edward Weston: Life Work is drawn from the private collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg. Their significant holdings span the creative life of the photographer whom they consider the Picasso of photography. 1

3 ABOUT EDWARD WESTON Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 January 1, 1958) was a 20th-century American photographer. He has been called one of the most innovative and influential American photographers. [1] 1. Pitts, Terence. Edward Weston Köln: Taschen, ISBN Chronology 1886 Edward Henry Weston born in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago Weston s mother dies and his sister May, older by nine years, raises him. Receives first camera from his father, a Kodak Bullseye No Moves to Tropico, a suburb of Los Angeles, to be close to his sister. First published photograph appears Meets Flora Chandler ( ), seven years his elder and his sister s closest friend Spends six months at the Illinois College of Photography, Effingham, Illinois. Works in the studios of George Steckel and A. Louis Mojonier Marries Flora Chandler Son Chandler (died 1995) born Son Brett (died 1993) born. Opens portrait studio in Tropico (later Glendale), California Meets photographer Margrethe Mather ( ) Son Neil (died 1998) born Elected member of the London Salon of Photography; meets Johan Hagemeyer ( ) Mather begins working in Weston s studio; they sign several photographs together Son Cole (died 2003) born Meets actress and artists model Tina Modotti ( ) Photographs Armco Steel Plant in Middletown, Ohio. Travels to New York to meet Alfred Stieglitz ( ) Moves to Mexico City with Modotti, returning to California from December 1924 until August Stops making platinum prints. 2

4 1926 Returns to Glendale Starts series of close-ups (vegetables, shells, nudes) Opens portrait studio in San Francisco with Brett Moves to Carmel, California. Meets Sonya Noskowiak ( ) with whom he lives until Makes first photographs at Point Lobos. Begins studies of peppers. Switches to higher gloss silver chloride paper First solo show in New York Co-founds and exhibits with Group f/64 (some other members: Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Willard Van Dyke, and Sonya Noskowiak). The Art of Edward Weston published Works for several months for the WPA. Begins series of 4 x 5 inch nudes Meets Charis Wilson ( ). Makes first photographs of dunes at Oceano, California Awarded the first Guggenheim Fellowship in Photography. Travels with Wilson around western states. Flora and Edward are divorced Guggenheim Fellowship extended. Marries Charis Wilson Settles in Carmel Highlands on Wildcat Hill in a house built by son Neil Weston and Wilson drive across country to photograph images for a special edition of Walt Whitman s Leaves of Grass. They return to California after the bombing of Pearl Harbor Fuel rationing and security keep Weston from traveling or photographing at Point Lobos; photographs around Wildcat Hill Weston and Wilson separate. Early signs of Parkinson s disease become evident Major retrospective of Weston s photographs mounted at the Museum of Modern Art Dody Warren (later Dody Weston Thompson), his final protege, assistant, and later daughter-in-law, moves to Wildcat Hill. Makes 8 x 10 inch color transparencies for Kodak Makes last negative, The Dody Rocks, at Point Lobos Begins work with Brett on Fifteith Anniversary Portfolio With $6,000 from an anonymous donor, begins the Print Project. Brett produces eight prints each of over 800 negatives Dies January 1 of Parkinson s disease. 3

5 EXHIBITION-RELATED WEBSITES and BOOKS Edward Weston: Life Work Edward Weston: Master of Photography Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Edward Weston/Cole Weston family website Weston Gallery Abbott, Brett. In Focus: Edward Weston: Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum. Pitts, Terence. Edward Weston (Taschen Icons). Watts, Jennifer A. Edward Weston: A Legacy. Photographs by Edward Weston. Merrell Publishers, New York, Edward Weston: Life Work. Photographs From the Collection of Judith G Hochberg and Michael P. Mattis. Lodima Press, Revere, Pennsylvania, More Edward Weston books at amazon.com 4

6 EXHIBITION-RELATED VOCABULARY Edward Weston: Life Work photograph: An image recorded by a camera and reproduced on a photosensitive surface. point of view: The perspective, or angle, from which a subject is shown. still life: Objects that are arranged and then drawn, painted, or otherwise depicted by the artist. scale: The relative size of an object or objects compared to other objects. crop: To cut off or mask the unwanted parts of an image. retrospective: Literally meaning looking back, a retrospective exhibition looks back on the work of artist over the course of his or her career. landscape: A work of art of an outdoor scene. monochromatic: A work of art that uses values of one color. contrast: The difference between dark and light. value: The degree of lightness or darkness of a color. 5

7 PRE- and POST-VISIT ACTIVITIES Nature Still Life This project may be modified for elementary, middle, or high school grade levels. Motivation Look carefully at works of art from the exhibition Edward Weston: Life Work. Discuss Weston s photographs of vegetables and shells as a class. What types of objects are these? Are they easy to recognize at first? Why do you think this is? Procedure 1. Present students with a list of common, natural objects that they are relatively familiar with. Invite each student to pick one item from the list and create a quick line drawing from memory. 2. Share the drawings and discuss the commonalities as a group. Why are the drawings similar? Discuss the points of view or angles from which the items are drawn in the sketches. Highlight that we tend to remember the more identifiable point(s) of view of an object, but that, of course, there are many other points of view that may be used. 3. Bring in the items on the list (real or artificial) for students to handle and work with. 4. Ask each student to select the object that he or she originally drew a line drawing of in step 1 and look at it more closely from different points of view. 5. Instruct students to create original works of art of their items from a less typical point of view. (Use medium/media of choice.) 6. Discuss cropping and utilize viewfinders to help students as they are determining the compositions of their work. If desired, experiment with fishing line or other devices to prop up the items into different positions. 6

8 ALSO ON VIEW Artists of the Steiglitz Circle: Dove, Marin, O Keeffe, and Others May 7 - July 17 This Permanent Collection exhibition includes the work of early American modernists in the circle of photographer and gallery owner Alfred Steiglitz ( ). Recognized as a pioneer in the advancement of Pictorial photography in America and abroad, Alfred Stieglitz ( ), photographer, publisher, gallerist, and impresario, also made unparalleled contributions to the introduction of modern art in America and gave unequivocal support to young American modernist painters. In 1905, Stieglitz, in association with the photographer and painter Edward Steichen, opened the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession at 291 Fifth Avenue where he mounted exhibitions of Photo- Secessionist and European photographers. When the Little Galleries closed in 1908, Steiglitz opened 291 in different quarters in the same building and there he presented a remarkable series of ground-breaking exhibitions of modern European and American art. With the aide of advisors Steichen, Marius de Zayas, and Max Weber, who had connections with artists and galleries in France, 291 became the first venue in America to show Auguste Rodin and Henri Matisse in 1908, Paul Cézanne in 1910, and Pablo Picasso in This exhibition features work by Oscar Bluemner, Arthur B. Carles, Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Alfred Maurer, Georgia O Keeffe, Edward Steichen, Abraham Walkowitz, Max Weber and Huntington residents Arthur Dove and Helen Torr. 1 For information on Alfred Stieglitz ( ) and His Circle see: Thematic Essay Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History The Metropolitan Museum of Art A Timeless Legacy Ongoing Alfred Maurer, Flowers on a Yellow Table, Museum Purchase. This rotating Permanent Collection exhibition includes paintings, drawings, and sculpture from the 1500s through the late 1900s in a wide range of styles, demonstrating the breadth and depth of the Museum s collection. Beginning May 7, a selection of works focusing on waterfalls will be on display, including Ferdinand Richardt s Niagara (c. 1855), George Alexander Pickens Bash-Bish Falls (1948), and 19thcentury souvenir photographs by George Barker. (Joachim) Ferdinand Richardt, Niagara, c August Heckscher Collection. 7

9 Explore the Collection Start at the Home Page Learn about COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS. George Grosz s Eclipse of the Sun and much SEARCH THE COLLECTION of more than 2,200 works by artist, classification, or date. See artwork that is CURRENTLY ON VIEW. Click thumbnails for large images and detailed information. Select works of art have Huey s Kid-Friendly Information. These guided questions are designed for children to learn along with a grown-up. Huey makes it fun for everyone to look and learn together! 8

10 Everything you SPECIAL EXHIBITION RESOURCE GUIDES for TEACHERS Prepare your students before their School Discovery Program! Guides are developed on a rolling basis and are available free of charge at Simply click on Education / Educator Resources. Guides contain exhibition-specific information including: Artist biographies Exhibition summaries Full-color artwork images Vocabulary words Pre- and post-visit activities SHARE LESSONS and STUDENT WORK in the KIDS CORNER Have you taught your students a lesson inspired by artwork on view in the Museum? Share it with us and fellow art teachers at The Museum will display images of your students artwork in the Kids Corner art gallery. HOW TO SUBMIT: Please send.jpg files of student work to seekamp@heckscher.org. All submissions must include teacher s full name, school name, district, and students grade level. If desired, include a brief description of the project. QUESTIONS? Call the Museum s Education Department , Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, or seekamp@heckscher.org. 2 Prime Avenue Huntington, NY