Abandoned Car, Crescent Beach
1939
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image/sheet: 19.05 × 24.13 cm (7 1/2 × 9 1/2 in.) mount: 35.56 × 39.37 cm (14 × 15 1/2 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Stephen G. Stein
Accession Number
2021.5.15
Art Historical Context
In 1939, renowned American photographer Edward Weston captured *Abandoned Car, Crescent Beach*, a striking gelatin silver print that exemplifies his mastery of straight photography. Weston, a pioneer of the Group f/64 movement alongside Ansel Adams, championed unmanipulated images that celebrated precise detail, rich textures, and elemental forms. This 7½ × 9½-inch image (mounted to 14 × 15½ inches) freezes a derelict automobile amid the rugged dunes and surf of Crescent Beach, likely on the Oregon coast, transforming an everyday scene of decay into a poignant study of nature's reclamation. C...