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Ansel Adams

American, 1902-1984

The San Francisco–born photographer Ansel Adams is celebrated for his majestic black-and-white photography that brought the deserts, mountains and forests of the American West to the public. His images, beloved for their raw beauty and the magic of their subjects, are known around the world and widely reproduced as calendars and posters.

A sickly child with little attraction to sports or games, Adams early on developed an avid interest in the natural surroundings of his San Francisco home, on the heights facing Golden Gate Park. This passion found a productive outlet in photography, which he discovered at 14, when his father gave him his first camera during a family trip to Yosemite National Park. He spent much of the ensuing decades capturing Yosemite’s vast and varied wonders.

Adams’s photographs were first published in 1921. Even these early efforts demonstrate his eye for composition and his sensitivity to tonal balance and textural contrast. In the mid-1920s, he began to play with soft focus, as in the dreamy 1927 Lyell Fork Meadows, which appears bathed in a hazy, nostalgic light. The 1948 Sunrise over Sand Dunes in Death Valley exemplifies Adams’s later experiments with stark contrasts in light and geometric framing, which transform the landscape into a near abstraction.

Find a collection of Ansel Adams photography today on 1stDibs.

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Creator: Ansel Adams
Yosemite and the Range of Light Ansel Adams Signed 1st Edition
By Ansel Adams
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Yosemite and the Range of Light Ansel Adams signed 1st edition. 1981, SIGNED by Ansel Adams on a special book plate in the middle of the first (blan...
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Late 20th Century American Expressionist Ansel Adams

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Paper

Fern Spring, Dusk, Yosemite Valley, CA by Ansel Adams, 1961
By Ansel Adams
Located in Bellport, NY
Ansel Adams,"Fern Spring, Dusk." Yosemite Valley, California,1962 by Ansel Adams's is an original photographic print to accompany the De Luxe Edition of Ansel Adams extraordinary book with works from 1923-1974, and was published by the New York Graphic Society, LTD. Boston, 1974 Signed in pencil by Ansel Adams, this is print number 413,the photograph measures 12 x 9 and with the matt measures 16 1/2 x 13 1/2. The image is not framed and is in immaculate condition, we can frame on request. The New York Graphic Society Ansel Adams book...
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1960s American Other Vintage Ansel Adams

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Paper

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Ansel Adams furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Ansel Adams furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of paper and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Ansel Adams furniture, although beige editions of this piece are particularly popular. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Frederic Remington, André Gisson, and Lynn Curlee. Prices for Ansel Adams furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $500 and can go as high as $5,500, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $3,000.
Questions About Ansel Adams
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Photographer Ansel Adams spoke of the ‘Art of Visualization’ around his photography methods. This concept revolves around the photographer imagining where the audience’s eye will move across a scene before taking the shot. Visualization helps the photographer frame a scene in a way that aligns with their intent. Shop a collection of Ansel Adams photography from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 1, 2024
    Ansel Adams' most famous photo is open for debate. One of his first photographs to draw attention from the public was 1927's Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, an image of the Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. Other notable photos by Adams include Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico; Half Dome, Merced River, Winter, Yosemite National Park, California; San Francisco From Twin Peaks and Sand Dunes, Sunrise, Death Valley National Monument, California. On 1stDibs, explore a wide variety of Ansel Adams art.

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