Born March 24: Edward Weston

By Michael Baadke

American photographer Edward Henry Weston was born March 24, 1886, in Highland Park, Ill., and grew up in Chicago. He studied at the Illinois College of Photography before moving to California, where he remained for most of his adult life.

The United States Postal Service issued a 37¢ stamp honoring Weston in its 2002 20-stamp Masters of American Photography set (Scott 3649j). The stamp design shows a slightly cropped image of Weston’s 1927 photograph titled Two Shells.

The liner paper on the reverse of the self-adhesive stamp includes information about the photographer and his work.

“Edward Weston (1886-1958), an early proponent for the unmanipulated, sharp-focused realism of “straight” photography, sought to capture the quintessence of his subjects. Acclaimed for the tonal beauty and technical precision of his landscapes, nudes, portraits, and still lifes, Weston made many photographs — including Two Shells, 1927 — that are considered icons of modernism.”

Weston died in California on Jan. 1, 1958.