2026 Weston Scholarship Judges

Julia Christopher (American, 1983 -) grew up in Carmel, California, in the heart of West Coast photography. Brett Weston, who doted on Julia as the grandchild he never had, fondly encouraged her to take up both photography and riding horses as a toddler. She spontaneously made her first photographs at Weston’s Carmel Valley residence at the age of two. After having taken classes at ICP (Institut Catholique de Paris) and graduating from Santa Catalina School, she went on to study classical painting at New York University’s Steinhardt and art history at their extension program in Paris, France. Read more

Matthew Weston is co-owner, with his wife Davi, of The Weston Gallery, Inc., located in Carmel, California. The gallery, founded by his mother Maggi in 1975, specializes in fine art photography. Matthew’s father Cole, son of Edward, schooled Matthew in the art of classical “wet” photography at a young age. Matthew continued his own photographic exploration until he joined the family business in 1990 to curate, expedite and represent the gallery at both national and international art fairs. He was an appraiser for several years and has curated and been instrumental in the placement of photographic art in hundreds of private, public, corporate and institutional collections and exhibitions throughout the USA, Europe and Asia.

Kim Weston is a fine art photographer from California who specializes in nude photography. Weston was born to one of the most influential and creative families in American history and has been making fine-art nude photographs for over 45 years. Kim learned his craft assisting his father, Cole Weston, in the darkroom making gallery prints from the original negatives of his grandfather, Edward Weston. Kim also worked for many years as an assistant to his uncle, Brett Weston, whose bold, abstract photographs ranked him as the "child genius of American photography." Kim Weston's largest body of work consists of silver gelatin prints made from 6×7 (56mm x 69mm), 4×5, and 8×10 negatives. In addition to the 8×10 format he prints in 11×14 and 16×20 sizes. He also prints in Platinum and lately he has added paint to his photographs.

Past Weston Scholarship Judges