05/14/2026
A Son’s Eye | Edward Weston — The Man, Not the Myth
Not every photograph of a great artist captures the man behind the work. This one does. Taken around 1945 by his youngest son Cole, this portrait of Edward Weston is one of the family’s most treasured images. He looks happy. He looks healthy.
Cole used to lecture about his father, and he called it simply — The Man, Not the Myth. That title says everything. Cole knew Edward not as an icon, but as his father, and that intimacy shows in this photograph.
Edward died at Wildcat Hill on New Year’s Day, 1958. His sons scattered his ashes at Point Lobos — a place he loved so deeply that the beach was later renamed Weston Beach in his honor.
This photograph appears in Kim’s book Growing Up Weston, along with Kim’s own story of coming to Wildcat Hill as a boy and meeting his grandfather. It is a book about photography, yes — but more than that, it is a book about family.
Wildcat Hill remains in the Weston family. Kim Weston, Edward’s grandson, lives and works here today. Learn more about the Weston legacy and Kim’s work at kimweston.com. Come for a visit!
Link for book in bio.
