Doddy West Thompson, a celebrated photographer and photographic historian, studied at Black Mountain from 1941-1943. Here she was exposed to concepts from the Bauhaus school and developed a focus on simplicity and functionality that would later play a central role in her style. West Thompson went on to become an exemplar of the West Coast photographic movement, also known as “Straight” photography, a group that also included her husband, Brett Weston and Ansel Adams.