Edward Weston

mounted, initialed and dated in pencil on the mount, signed, dated, and numbered 'N45-R-1' in pencil on the reverse, 1945 (Conger 1781)

The photographer to the sitter
By descent to Pirkle Jones, Baruch's husband
The Estate of Pirkle Jones

This photograph is in generally excellent condition. Upon very close examination, a few tiny deposits of original retouching are visible overall. Visible only in raking light in the lower left corner is a very small raised area, likely a particle trapped between the print and the mount during dry-mounting. The photograph is on a smooth cream-colored mount. The edges of the mount are age-appropriately darkened on the front and reverse. In addition to the print of this image in the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, Conger locates prints in the following institutional collections: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Art Institute of Chicago; and Special Collections, University of California, Santa Cruz, this last a Project Print.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Ruth-Marion Baruch lived at Wildcat Hill, Edward Weston's home in Carmel, during the summer of 1945 while working on her master's thesis, Edward Weston: The Man, The Artist and The Photographer.  Baruch was the first woman in the United States to receive an MFA in photography, which she completed at Ohio University.  The following year, in 1946, Baruch enrolled in the inaugural photography course at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, studying with Ansel Adams, Minor White, Homer Page, Edward Weston, and Dorothea Lange.  In 1949, Baruch married fellow student Pirkle Jones at Adams’s home in Yosemite.