Brett Weston: The Shape of Nature

In 1929, when Brett Weston was only eighteen years old, his black-and-white photographs were exhibited internationally amongst those by well-known photographers of the moment, including images by his renowned father, Edward Weston. The younger Weston would distinguish himself over the following decades as an important mid-century formal photographer particularly skilled at training his lens on shape and line to represent the elegance of nature.

The photographs in this gallery exhibition celebrate a recent gift to Philbrook Museum of Art of 51 Brett Weston images spanning his career. Featured are a selection of Weston’s best-known photographs from the 1960s of the American Southwest desert as well as his later studies of flora in lusher environs, including ferns in Hawaii. Taken together, these black-and-white images demonstrate Weston’s tremendous ability for creating unforgettable abstract compositions from the organic world.

Images:
Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993). Mexican Landscape, 1967. Gelatin silver print, 10 1/2 x 13 3/8″. Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Gift from the Christian Keesee Collection, 2023.9.7. ©️ Brett Weston Archive

Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993). Botanical, Ferns, 1980. Gelatin silver print, 11 x 14″. Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Gift from the Christian Keesee Collection, 2023.9.13. ©️ Brett Weston Archive

Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993). Cactus, c. 1960. Gelatin silver print, 11 x 14″. Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Gift from the Christian Keesee Collection, 2023.9.29. ©️ Brett Weston Archive