Dunes

early 1934

Meets Charis Wilson at a concert

Meeting Charis Wilson at a concert, he is immediately captivated by her beauty and personality, even more than with his previous lovers; a new and important chapter opens in his life. He writes that a new and most beautiful love has come into his life, one that he believes will stand the test of time.

1934

Stops writing his Daybooks

Perhaps because of the intensity of his new relationship, he stops writing in his Daybooks, and six months later makes one final entry, looking back from 22 April: Charis, he writes, may be remembered as the great love of his life.

April – May 1934

Asks Noskowiak to move out

He is still living with Noskowiak, but within two weeks he asks her to move out, declaring that other women are for him “as inevitable as the tides”.

1937 · Distinction

Guggenheim Fellowship

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.

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.