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Cole Weston (January 30, 1919 – April 20, 2003) was photographer Edward Weston's fourth and youngest son. Although Weston "was born into the tradition of craftsman-produced black-and-white art photography, he was to find his own photographic direction in colour.".[1]
Cole Weston | |
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| Born | January 30, 1919 |
| Died | April 20, 2003 (aged 84) Monterey, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Fine Art Photography |
| Notable work | Surf and Headlands |
| Spouse(s) | Dorothy Hermann, Helen Prosser, Margaret Woodward, Paulette Stubbs |
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Cole Weston's life followed a diverse course that started with theater, later leading him to the Navy,[2][3] a position photographing for Life,[4] and later photographing portraits, before he moved to Carmel, California, in 1946, at his father's request. In the years that followed, Cole became his father's assistant and trusted companion; and, as Edward's struggle with Parkinson's disease worsened, Cole became the keeper of two careers, his father's and his own.[1] Before his death in 2003, Cole Weston was devoted to keeping both bodies of work flourishing and circulating widely.[5][6][7]
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Cole graduated with a degree in theater arts from the Cornish School in Seattle in 1937.[2] Cole served in the United States Navy during World War II as a welder and photographer[2] in Norman, OK.[3]
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Upon his discharge from the navy, Cole started photographing for Life in Southern California.[4] At the same time, Edward became increasingly crippled by Parkinson's disease and wrote to Cole asking for his help with the printing of his negatives;[4][8] and so, in 1946, Cole and his wife moved to Carmel to help his ailing father in his darkroom and studio.[1][2] Cole and his brother Brett Weston printed their father's negatives under his supervision.[6][7]
At the time, Eastman Kodak sent their new color films Kodachrome and Ektachrome to Edward because they wanted him to "photograph Point Lobos in color" to which Edward responded: "Well, I don’t know anything about color, but I know Point Lobos better than any man alive".[5] With the leftover film, Cole began experimenting with the new medium and, in 1957, he created his first color prints of the California coastline.[2][9]
"I’m a color photographer. That’s what I do. Whether you like it or not, that’s what I do. There is nothing wrong with black and white, but I am into color. And I like it!"[5]
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In 1971, Cole Weston established the second Forest Theater Guild in Carmel, CA and began directing productions on the outdoor stage during spring and summer months.[10] Weston worked with the Forest Theater Guild for 50 years in which he directed more than 30 plays and was involved with the physical construction of the Indoor Forest Theater[11][12] (a small theater beneath the outdoor stage) "hauling in the concrete and other building materials himself".[13]
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In his will, Edward Weston left his negatives to Cole, who printed them[1][14] for more than 30 years. On September 30, 2014, a collection of 548 prints from Edward's negatives, printed posthumously by Cole, was auctioned by Sotheby's in New York.[15]
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