Sandstone Erosion, Point Lobos

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.

1945

First symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

The year 1945 marks the beginning of significant changes: Weston begins to experience the first symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, a debilitating ailment that will gradually steal his strength and his ability to photograph. He withdraws from Wilson, who is becoming more involved in local politics and the Carmel cultural scene.

until February 1946

Separation from Charis Wilson

A strength that once brought them together — her lack of interest in becoming a photographer herself — eventually leads to their break-up. While he is working on a major retrospective for the Museum of Modern Art they separate; Weston returns to Glendale, since the land under their cabin on Wildcat Hill still belongs to Wilson’s father. Within a few months she moves out and arranges to sell the property to him. She later wrote that her flight from Edward was partly an escape from photography, which had taken up so much room in her life.

February 1946

Retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art

In February 1946 Weston’s major retrospective opens at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He and Beaumont Newhall select 313 prints, and eventually 250 photographs are displayed along with 11 negatives. Many of his prints are still for sale at the time, and he sells 97 prints from the show at $25 each.

1947

Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease

He is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and soon stops photographing; he spends the remaining ten years of his life overseeing the printing of more than 1,000 of his most famous images.

1950

Retrospective at the Musée National d’Art Moderne

In 1950 a major retrospective of Weston’s work takes place at the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris.