Ansel Adams

Adams, Ansel Easton
American, 1902 - 1984

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The artwork shows a winter scene in Yosemite National Park, featuring the snow-covered peaks of Eagle Peak and Middle Brother. The point of view is from below, looking up at the mountains partially shrouded in mist and clouds. The horizon is obscured by the rugged mountain faces. The composition includes dark silhouettes of pine trees in the lower portion, contrasting with the bright, illuminated snow on the mountains. The monochrome palette of the image emphasizes the textures and contrasts, with soft, diffused light creating a sense of depth.
Ansel Adams, Eagle Peak and Middle Brother, Winter, Yosemite National Park, California, c. 1968, printed 1979, gelatin silver print, Gift of Virginia B. Adams, 1986.3.12

Eagle Peak and Middle Brother, Winter, Yosemite National Park, California

Ansel Adams · c. 1968, printed 1979 · gelatin silver print ·  Accession ID  1986.3.12
This black and white photograph captures a coastal scene south of Saint Sebastian, Oregon. The viewpoint looks across a beach where the horizon is positioned high. In the distance, dark, jagged rock formations emerge from the sea, contrasting against the lighter tones of the sky and water. The shoreline curves, with waves lapping at the sand. Closest to us, a collection of driftwood is scattered along the beach. The monochromatic palette highlights the interplay of light and shadow.
Ansel Adams, Coast South of Saint Sebastian, Oregon, 1968, gelatin silver print, Gift of Virginia Adams, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1991.159.1

Coast South of Saint Sebastian, Oregon

Ansel Adams · 1968 · gelatin silver print ·  Accession ID  1991.159.1
The image shows a close-up of a group of large, textured tree trunks and branches. The horizon is obscured by heavy fog, casting a soft light over the scene. In the distance, tall, slender trees can be seen amidst the mist, their canopies blending with the fog. The style suggests the use of photography, emphasizing high contrast and detail in the wooden textures and the softness of the trees beyond. The color palette is monochromatic, with various shades of gray enhancing the focus on textures and contrasts.
Ansel Adams, Cypress and Fog, Pebble Beach, California, 1967, printed 1979, gelatin silver print, Gift of Virginia B. Adams, 1986.3.19

Cypress and Fog, Pebble Beach, California

Ansel Adams · 1967, printed 1979 · gelatin silver print ·  Accession ID  1986.3.19
The image shows a view from above a calm body of water with scattered dead trees emerging from the surface. The horizon is not visible, focusing on the trees' silhouettes against a light background. The style resembles a photograph with clean lines and subtle gradients. The color palette is mainly grayscale, with stark contrast between dark tree silhouettes and pale water. Some trees are detailed in the foreground, while others fade into the background.
Ansel Adams, Trees, Slide Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, c. 1965, printed 1981, gelatin silver print, Gift of Virginia B. Adams, 1986.3.67

Trees, Slide Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Ansel Adams · c. 1965, printed 1981 · gelatin silver print ·  Accession ID  1986.3.67
The image shows a black and white landscape with an aerial view capturing the sky, water surface, and mountains. The composition includes rugged mountains, dramatic clouds in the sky, and their reflections in the water below. The monochrome palette highlights the contrast between the sky, mountains, and water.
Ansel Adams, Evening Clouds and Pool, East Side of the Sierra Nevada from the Owens Valley, California, c. 1962, printed 1980, gelatin silver print, Gift of Virginia B. Adams, 1986.3.60

Evening Clouds and Pool, East Side of the Sierra Nevada from the Owens Valley, California

Ansel Adams · c. 1962, printed 1980 · gelatin silver print ·  Accession ID  1986.3.60
From a low vantage point, we look up at the rugged face of a tall, almost sheer rock formation with the moon above in this vertical black and white photograph. Filling most of the composition, the rock formation is slightly rounded along the top but dips down to a jagged ridge to our left. Strong light from the upper right creates deep shadows across its iron-gray surface, which is textured with long vertical streaks of white and lighter gray. An almost-full moon hovers in the otherwise clear, charcoal-gray sky above it, near the top of the image to our left of center. Formations outside our view cast deep shadows along the right edge of the photograph. A smattering of white across from us, low in the image, suggest snow on the rock there. A dark mass close to us is an ink-black silhouette rising from the lower left corner and angling off the left edge, near the upper left corner.
Ansel Adams, Half Dome and Moon, Yosemite Valley, 1960, gelatin silver print, Gift of Stephen G. Stein, 2020.29.45

Half Dome and Moon, Yosemite Valley

Ansel Adams · 1960 · gelatin silver print ·  Accession ID  2020.29.45
The image shows a landscape with a hillside covered in leafless trees. A single prominent tree stands in front of a wooden fence that runs horizontally across the scene. The photo is in black and white, emphasizing tones, textures, and contrasts. The color palette is monochromatic, consisting of shades of gray and black.
Ansel Adams, Oak Tree, Rain, Sonoma County, California, c. 1960, printed 1980, gelatin silver print, Gift of Virginia B. Adams, 1986.3.48

Oak Tree, Rain, Sonoma County, California

Ansel Adams · c. 1960, printed 1980 · gelatin silver print ·  Accession ID  1986.3.48
From a low vantage point, we look up at the rugged face of a tall, almost sheer rock formation with the moon above in this vertical black and white photograph. Filling most of the composition, the rock formation is slightly rounded along the top but dips down to a jagged ridge to our left. Strong light from the upper right creates deep shadows across its iron-gray surface, which is textured with long vertical streaks of white and lighter gray. An almost-full moon hovers in the otherwise clear, charcoal-gray sky above it, near the top of the image to our left of center. Formations outside our view cast deep shadows along the right edge of the photograph. A smattering of white across from us, low in the image, suggest snow on the rock there. A dark mass close to us is an ink-black silhouette rising from the lower left corner and angling off the left edge, near the upper left corner.
Ansel Adams, Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, California, 1960, printed 1980, gelatin silver print, Corcoran Collection (Gift of Mr. Murray H. Bring, 1988), 2015.19.4431

Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, California

Ansel Adams · 1960, printed 1980 · gelatin silver print ·  Accession ID  2015.19.4431
This black and white photograph shows a dense stand of towering redwood trees, captured from a ground-level perspective. The horizon is not visible, as the image is filled with the vertical lines of the tree trunks that stretch upwards, disappearing out of the frame. The trees are closely packed, with varied textures in the bark, showing fine details and subtle variations in tone. The undergrowth consists of smaller ferns and saplings. The darkness between the trunks creates depth. The monochrome palette emphasizes the contrast between the illuminated tree trunks and the shadowy background.
Ansel Adams, Redwoods, Bull Creek Flat, Northern California, c. 1960, printed 1980, gelatin silver print, Gift of Virginia B. Adams, 1986.3.41

Redwoods, Bull Creek Flat, Northern California

Ansel Adams · c. 1960, printed 1980 · gelatin silver print ·  Accession ID  1986.3.41
From a low vantage point, we look up at the rugged face of a tall, almost sheer rock formation with the moon above in this vertical black and white photograph. Filling most of the composition, the rock formation is slightly rounded along the top but dips down to a jagged ridge to our left. Strong light from the upper right creates deep shadows across its iron-gray surface, which is textured with long vertical streaks of white and lighter gray. An almost-full moon hovers in the otherwise clear, charcoal-gray sky above it, near the top of the image to our left of center. Formations outside our view cast deep shadows along the right edge of the photograph. A smattering of white across from us, low in the image, suggest snow on the rock there. A dark mass close to us is an ink-black silhouette rising from the lower left corner and angling off the left edge, near the upper left corner.
Ansel Adams, Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California, 1960, printed 1980, gelatin silver print, Gift of Virginia B. Adams, 1986.3.35

Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California

Ansel Adams · 1960, printed 1980 · gelatin silver print ·  Accession ID  1986.3.35

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The top three-quarters of this horizontal landscape painting is filled with roiling, deeply shadowed clouds that tower over a line of buffalo crossing a grassy meadow below. Small in scale, the buffalo form a line that extends away from us at a diagonal into the distance to our right. Sunlight creates a bright reflection on the stream where the frontmost buffalo crosses, but the other animals are nearly backlit in the raking light. Trees, with branches whipping in the wind, rise along the left side of the painting, and the mountainous landscape to our right is lost in darkness under heavy clouds. The clouds above lighten from navy blue in the lower right corner of the sky to slate blue and white at the center of the painting. Small patches of blue sky are visible between a few breaks in the clouds, and sunlight falls on a cliff-like mountain face in the distance beyond the trees to our left. Another bank of parchment-colored clouds in the upper left corner, closer to us, contrasts with the glimmering light highlighting some of the clouds nearby.

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The image consists of multiple rectangular panels with wavy lines and blocky shapes, creating a fragmented landscape. The colors used are rich earth tones such as reds, blacks, blues, greens, and beige, resembling rock formations and valleys.

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