First Book in Aperture’s History, Edward Weston: The Flame of Recognition, Reissued in a 60th Anniversary Paperback Edition

New York, April 29, 2025—This spring, Aperture presents the sixtieth anniversary edition of Edward Weston: The Flame of Recognition. Originally issued in 1965, The Flame of Recognition holds the distinction of being the very first book in Aperture’s publishing history. This acclaimed monograph is an essential title in any library, covering the range of Edward Weston’s most renowned works, from portraits and nudes to landscapes and still lifes. Now offered as a softcover edition, The Flame of Recognition offers unmatched insight into the mind, life, and work of an iconic figure in the history of twentieth-century photography.

Aperture’s founders appreciated the generative potential of words and pictures; fittingly, The Flame of Recognition brings together a selection of Weston’s images alongside compelling examples of his writing, excerpted from his now-famed Daybooks and letters. Drawing on a decades-long collaboration between Weston and Nancy Newhall, Aperture cofounder and Museum of Modern Art curator, the book channels the photographer’s creativity and, in his own words, “present[s] clearly my feeling for life with photographic beauty . . . without subterfuge or evasion in spirit or technique.” Other contributors to the book include two of the artist’s sons, Brett and Cole, as well as two additional Aperture cofounders, the filmmaker and author Dody Weston Thompson and Ansel Adams, whose preface offers an insightful posthumous tribute.

As Aperture’s first book, The Flame of Recognition marks an important moment that changed the course of this nonprofit publisher’s history and role in the field. This content was originally featured in a 1958 themed issue of Aperture magazine released in celebration of Weston’s life. In response to the overwhelming interest in this dedicated issue, Aperture’s founders made the decision to expand the reach of their quarterly magazine by adding a book publishing platform, whose list has since grown to include over one thousand titles. In 2015, Aperture reissued The Flame of Recognition to celebrate the book’s fiftieth anniversary; ten years later, Aperture is pleased to present this sixtieth anniversary edition in an elegant and accessible softcover, preserving the subtle beauty of the original works.

Sarah Meister, Executive Director of Aperture, states, “The Flame of Recognition embodies Aperture’s long-standing commitment to recognize and amplify creative thinking from a broad range of perspectives in photography. It is an honor to celebrate the vision of our founders with this anniversary edition of Weston’s classic monograph, and to acknowledge their dedication to the medium that Aperture continues to value and uphold. Kelli Connell: Pictures for Charis [Aperture, 2024], which takes Weston’s road trips with his wife and muse, Charis Wilson, as a point of departure, is one signal among many of the enduring interest in this title. We are grateful for the generous support that allows us to make this landmark book available for future generations.”

This book was made possible with generous support from Lisa and Harry Segalas and an anonymous donor. Edward Weston: The Flame of Recognition is available at aperture.org/books

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Edward Weston (1886–1958; born in Highland Park, Illinois; died in Carmel, California) began to earn an international reputation for his portrait work in 1911. From 1923 to 1926, he turned increasingly to subjects such as nudes, clouds, and close-ups of rocks, trees, vegetables, and shells. Weston was a founding member of Group f/64, best known for their use of the large-format view camera, small-lens aperture, and contact printing, and for the goal of elevating photography to a high art at a time when it was only considered a form of documentation. On a Guggenheim Fellowship from 1937 to 1939, he photographed throughout the American West with Charis Wilson, his writing partner and muse. In 1948, Weston, who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease several years earlier, made his last photograph. His Daybooks, records of his life as a photographer, were published in the 1960s.

Nancy Newhall was a photo-historian, writer, and acting curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, from 1942 to 1946, where she organized a major retrospective of Weston’s work. She cofounded Aperture in 1952.

Ansel Adams was an iconic American photographer and environmentalist known for his awe-inspiring black-and-white photographs of the American West. Adams was a cofounder of Group f/64 and Aperture.

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About Aperture
Aperture is a nonprofit publisher that leads conversations around photography worldwide. From its base in New York, Aperture connects global audiences and supports artists through its acclaimed quarterly magazine, books, exhibitions, digital platforms, public programs, limited-edition prints, and awards. Established in 1952 to advance “creative thinking, significantly expressed in words and photographs,” Aperture champions photography’s vital role in nurturing curiosity and encouraging a more just, tolerant society.

Aperture’s programs and operations are made possible by the generosity of our board of trustees, our members, and other individuals, and with major support from 7G Foundation, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Charina Endowment Fund, Documentary Arts, Ford Foundation, Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Marta Heflin Foundation, Ishibashi Foundation, Joy of Giving Something, Anne Levy Charitable Trust, Henry Luce Foundation, Mailman Foundation, MurthyNAYAK Foundation, Grace Jones Richardson Trust, San Francisco Foundation, Thomas R. Schiff Foundation, Jane Smith Turner Foundation, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Stuart B. Cooper and R. L. Besson, Kate Cordsen and Denis O’Leary, Thomas and Susan Dunn, Agnes Gund, Michael Sonnenfeldt, Jon Stryker and Slobodan Randjelović, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and New York State Council on the Arts, with support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

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Press contacts:
Lauren Van Natten, Aperture, publicity@aperture.org