Sand Dune 5
Brett Weston
American, 1911–1993
1935
A gelatin silver print photograph in which Weston transforms a desert dune into a study of pure form and tonal contrast, seeking to make the landscape read like abstract sculpture.
You first notice the sweeping, knife‑edged curve and a vast, velvety shadow that carves the picture plane, so that rippled sand, distant ridges, and a quiet sky read as a spare, tactile composition of light and dark.
A key example of modernist photography, Weston's dune images helped redefine landscape photography by privileging shape, texture, and abstraction over literal depiction.
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
7 1/2 × 9 1/2" (19 × 24.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Albert M. Bender
Accession
45.1939
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
