Discovering Ansel Adams
Discovering Ansel Adams provides unprecedented insight into the early career of Ansel Adams (1902–1984), demonstrating how, between 1916 and the 1940s, Adams developed from a 14-year-old tourist with a camera into America’s most celebrated photographer. Drawn from the definitive Adams collection at the Center for Creative Photography (CCP) in Tucson, AZ, the exhibition brings together approximately 80 virtuosic photographs with unique archival objects, including the artist’s handwritten correspondence, snapshots, personal possessions, and photographic working materials. Featured works range from small, one-of-a-kind photographs from Adams’ teenage years to jaw-dropping mural-sized prints of his most famous mature views. Viewers join the artist on his journey from teenage musician to young mountaineer and beyond as he makes his first pictures at Yosemite, experiences the American Southwest, learns how to communicate with a broad national audience, and undertakes an epic quest to photograph America’s national parks. Along the way, discover how Ansel Adams became Ansel Adams.
Founded in 1975 following discussions between the President of the University of Arizona and Ansel Adams, the Center for Creative Photography is one of the world’s finest institutions for the study of the history of photography, and a singularly important archive for Ansel Adams studies. Discovering Ansel Adams presents a unique opportunity to encounter the CCP’s Ansel Adams collection outside of Tucson.
Discovering Ansel Adams is organized by Rebecca Senf, Ph.D., Chief Curator at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, and presented by Nathaniel M. Stein, Ph.D., Curator of Photography at the Cincinnati Art Museum, with the support of The Museum Box.
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Ansel Adams (American, 1902–1984), The Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, 1942. Gelatin silver print, image: 3915/16 x 511/4 inches (101.4 x 130.1 cm). Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Ansel Adams Archive, 76.562.2. © The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
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Ansel Adams (American, 1902–1984), A Man of Taos, Tony Lujan, 1929–1930. Gelatin silver print, image: 125/16 x 8 15/16 inches (31.3 x 22.7 cm). Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Ansel Adams Archive, 78.187.6. © The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
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Ansel Adams (American, 1902–1984), Leaves, Glacier National Park, Montana, 1942. Gelatin silver print, image: 47/16 x 61/4 inches (11.3 x 15.8 cm). Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Ansel Adams Archive, 84.92.26. © The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
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Ansel Adams (American, 1902–1984), Helmet Rock, near Land’s End, c. 1918. Gelatin silver print, image: 211/16 x 311/16 inches (6.9 x 9.4 cm). Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Ansel Adams Archive, 85.122.6. © The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
Venue Details
Cincinnati Art Museum
953 Eden Park Dr
Cincinnati, OH 45202
(513) 721-2787
Tue–Sun 11am–5pm, Thur 11am–8pm
Free to the Public
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