Ansel Adams - El Capitan, California,
ANSEL ADAMS (1902-1984)
El Capitan, Winter
Printed circa mid 20th c.
9" x 7"
Ansel Adams’s photographs of the American Wilderness have made him one of the most famous photographers of all time. In 1932, the artist founded Group f/64 along with contemporaries Imogen Cunningham and Edward Weston. The group devoted themselves to what they called “pure” or “straight” photography, which embraced a direct, sharply focused, and distinctly Western aesthetic. Adams was also pivotal in establishing the department of photography at the Museum of Modern Art and embraced an ethos of conservation throughout his career. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Hasselblad Award, and the Guggenheim Fellowship. Today, Adams’s photographs belong in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and regularly sell for six figures at auction. Adams placed great value upon technical mastery; he evaluated gradations of light, manipulated degrees of exposure, and constantly experimented with new techniques.