Lily and Water, Alaska

Weston photographed plant life across varied geographies, from the deserts of California and New Mexico to the tundra of Alaska. Plants were a favored subject even in urban centers: in New York, Weston photographed patches of grass on street curbs, along with a variety of plants found in the Bronx Botanical Gardens. Weston’s artistic relation-ship with plants was an extension of his formalist impulses rather than a result of scientific interest. His botanical studies employ close cropping to emphasize the specimens’ contours and texture, as well as the interplay of light and shadow.