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The Death of General Wolfe

Benjamin West
The Death of General Wolfe (Detail), 1770
oil on canvas
152.6 x 214.5 cm
Transfer from the Canadian War Memorials, 1921 (Gift of the 2nd Duke of Westminster, England, 1918)
National Gallery of Canada (no. 8007)

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Edward Weston

1886 - 1958

American Edward Weston was one of the foremost photographers of the 20th century. In the 1920s, he moved away from the soft-focus pictorialism of his early work. His mature work developed out of an unswerving belief in realism. Weston’s unretouched and sharply detailed portraits, landscapes and still-lifes celebrate form and the unique ability of the camera to see more than the eye. They belong to the tradition of straight photography. In 1932, Weston formed Group f/64 along with Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham and other likeminded photographers living in northern California. f/64 was the smallest aperture setting on their cameras, and gave the sharpest focus and the greatest depth of field.

While modernist artists at the time looked to the cities for inspiration, Weston preferred nature. For him, being modern was less about the things you photographed, than the way you looked at them. Weston wrote extensively throughout his life. His journal was published posthumously in two volumes titled The Daybooks of Edward Weston. 

Edward Weston
Photograph by Ansel Adams. Used with permission of the Trustees of the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust. All Rights Reserved

Birth name

Edward Weston

Born

Born in Highland Park, Illinois, 24 March 1886

Died

Died in Carmel, California, 01 January 1958

Nationality

American

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