Edward Weston photographed the California sand dunes powerful graphic contrasts defined by piercing bright sunlight and deep, sinuous shadow. This stark contrast in Dunes reveals Weston’s incredible attention to detail and masterful printing. The photograph represents the artist’s craft of abstracting natural beauty in warm black and white.

Edward Weston (American, 1886–1958) is widely considered as one of Americas most revered 20th century photographers, best known for his portraits, nudes, and still lifes. In his travels throughout the American west, Weston devoted his photographic attention to the natural landscape, masterfully capturing organic forms and textures with astonishing detail and nostalgia. Weston received the first Guggenheim Fellowship for Photography, accepting in 1937. Weston’s photography was the subject of a major retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art New York in 1946. Upon Weston’s death in 1958, the Smithsonian Institute displayed 100 of Weston’s photographs in the exhibition "The World of Edward Weston".