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Brett Weston, American, 1911-1993
Brett Weston was the second of Edward and Flora Chandler Weston's
four sons. By 1923 Edward and Flora's marriage was ending and Edward went to
Mexico with his eldest son Chandler. Brett was devastated by his father's departure
and over the next two years he got into trouble at school. Edward returned to
California in 1925 and took Brett back to Mexico with him. While on the ship
Edward taught Brett how to use his camera and to Edward's surprise Brett learned
photography quickly and easily. Within a few months Edward stated that Brett
was "doing better work at fourteen than I did at thirty". When Edward and Brett
returned to California in 1927 they were inseparable. Edward set up a studio
and he and Brett worked together for the next 3 years. In 1929 twenty of Brett's
prints were accepted in the "Film und Foto" exhibition in Stuttgart. Among world
famous architects, avant-garde film makers and photographers such as Berenice
Abbott, Imogen Cunningham and Man Ray, the show brought Brett international recognition.
By 1930 there was some strain in Edward and Brett's relationship. Brett decided
it was time to leave and he set out on his own with his equipment, fifty dollars
and a car. He set up an informal studio in a friend's home in Los Angeles. During
the early years of the Great Depression he made a meager living as a portrait
photographer. In 1932 he had his first one-man show at the M.H. de Young Museum.
In 1935 he went to Santa Monica and once again opened up a studio with his father.
Three years later he created his first portfolio, 10 images of San Francisco.
During World War II he worked in an aircraft plant, as a cameraman at Twentieth
Century-Fox, and eventually volunteered for the armed forces. By pulling a few
strings he was assigned to the Signal Corps in New York where one of his commanders,
Arthur Rothstein, gave him some time to photograph in the city. He shot with
his new 11 x 14 camera and the resulting portfolio, "New York", was issued in
1951.
After Brett was discharged he spent some time photographing from Florida to
Maine for a Guggenheim grant he received. In 1947 he and his brother Cole sold
their houses and bought a small ranch together in Carmel, California. Brett
continued to do portrait work and some of his photographs were published in
magazines. In 1952 Brett and Cole put together their father's "50th Anniversary
Folio". Suffering from Parkinson's disease, Edward could no longer do his own
work. In 1955 Brett stopped making his own photographs and moved into Edward's
home to work non-stop.
Brett had mainly photographed in Alaska and California. In 1960 he traveled throughout Europe and returned to the States to work on his European Portfolio. In the years that followed, Brett returned to Europe several more times and made two excursions to Japan. In 1968 a German camera company gave Brett a 2 & 1/4 SLR camera. The smaller format camera allowed him endless possibilities in the realm of abstractions. In 1975 the University of New Mexico exhibited his work in honor of his fiftieth year in photography. For more information on Weston see Brett Weston: A Personal Selection with an introduction by Dody W. Thompson, or Brett Weston Photographs From Five Decades, an Aperture Monograph with a profile by R. H. Cravens.
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