Front / Recto

  • Title Edward Weston
  • Negative Date February 1924
  • Print Date 1924–26
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 7 3/8 × 8 7/8" (18.7 × 22.5 cm)
  • Place Taken Mexico City
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Abbott-Levy Collection funds, by exchange
  • MoMA Accession Number 1908.2001

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount
  • Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top left: 29743. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: 3.
  • Provenance The artist, Mexico City; to Frances Toor (1890–1956), Mexico City, 1926 [1]; by inheritance to Toor's son, Mexico City, 1956 [2]; purchased by Throckmorton Fine Art Inc., New York, 1983 [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther, August 12, 1999 [4]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 25; and Spencer Throckmorton, letter to Audrey Sands, September 27, 2013.
    [2] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 25.
    [3] Ibid.
    [4] Ibid.; and Throckmorton Fine Art Inc. invoice no. 10432. The invoice lists the print as a 1923–24 photograph by Edward Weston, titled Self Portrait with 8-by-10-inch Seneca View Camera.

Surface

  • Retouch Detail
    Detail showing retouching on the negative. The area of detail is 11.5 x 18 cm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
  • Surface Sheen Matte
  • Techniques Retouching (additive)
    Retouching in negative
  • PTM
    View of the recto of the artwork made using reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) software, which exaggerates subtle surface details and renders the features of the artwork plainly visible. Department of Conservation, MoMA
  • Micro-raking
    Raking-light close-up image, as shot. Area of detail is 6.7 x 6.7 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
    Raking-light close-up image, processed. Processing included removal of color, equalization of the histogram, and sharpening, all designed to enhance visual comparison. Department of Conservation, MoMA

Paper Material

  • Format Metric
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso no data
  • Fiber Analysis No fiber data available
  • Material Techniques Developing-out paper
  • XRF

    This work was determined to be a gelatin silver print via X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry.

    The following elements have been positively identified in the work, through XRF readings taken from its recto and verso (or from the mount, where the verso was not accessible):

    • Recto: P, S, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba
    • Verso or mount: not available

    The graphs below show XRF spectra for three areas on the print: two of the recto—from areas of maximum and minimum image density (Dmax and Dmin)—and one of the verso or mount. The background spectrum represents the contribution of the XRF instrument itself. The first graph shows elements identified through the presence of their characteristic peaks in the lower energy range (0 to 8 keV). The second graph shows elements identified through the presence of their characteristic peaks in the higher energy range (8 to 40 keV).

    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Background (red)
    Elements identified: P, S, Ca, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Zn, Sr, Ag

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