Clouds, Death Valley

1937 · Award

Guggenheim Fellowship

until 22 March 1937

Applying for the Guggenheim grant

At Beaumont Newhall’s suggestion Weston decides to apply for a Guggenheim Foundation grant: he writes a two-sentence description of his work, assembles thirty-five of his favourite prints and sends them in. Dorothea Lange and her husband point out that the application is too brief to be seriously considered, and he resubmits it with a four-page letter and a work plan. He does not mention that Wilson wrote the new application for him.

22 March 1937

News of the Guggenheim grant: two thousand dollars

On 22 March 1937 Weston learns he has been awarded a Guggenheim grant, the first ever given to a photographer: $2,000 for one year, a significant sum at the time. He capitalises on it further by arranging to supply the editor of AAA Westway Magazine with 8–10 photographs a month for $50 during their travels, with Wilson earning another $15 a month for captions and short narratives. They buy a new car and set out on Weston’s dream trip to photograph whatever he wants.

1937–1939

Nearly 1,400 negatives in two years on the fellowship

The first photographer to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship, he produces nearly 1,400 negatives over the next two years with his 8 × 10 view camera.

24 April 1939

Marries Charis Wilson

Finally relieved of past financial stress and inordinately happy with both his work and his relationship, Weston marries Wilson in a small ceremony on 24 April.

28 May 1941

The trip to illustrate Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass”

Just as the Guggenheim money is running out, Weston is invited to illustrate a new edition of Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass”: $1,000 for the photographs and $500 for travel expenses. He insists on artistic control and refuses to make literal illustrations of Whitman’s text. On 28 May he and Wilson set out on a trip that will cover 20,000 miles through 24 states; he takes between 700 and 800 8×10 negatives as well as dozens of Graflex portraits.