Ansel Adams: Discoveries, open January 31, 2010, at Phoenix Art Museum, offers new insights into the photographer’s greatest works by bringing the unparalleled holdings of the Center for Creative Photography’s Ansel Adams archive to light. The exhibition, featuring 120 photographs and dozens of rare archival documents and materials, will allow Museum visitors to explore the career and beloved photographs of one of America’s photographic masters in tremendous detail.
Ansel Adams. Grand Tetons and Snake River , 1942. Ansel Adams Archive. 84.92.542. © The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust. Collection Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona
The Center for Creative Photography, at the University of Arizona, was co-founded by Adams and then university president, Dr. John P. Schaefer. Adams worked throughout his life to champion photography as an art form, culminating in the creation of the Center for Creative Photography in 1975. The Tucson institution houses Adams’ personal collection of prints and papers, as well as video footage, personal correspondence, photographic equipment, proof prints, alternate views, negatives and portraits of the photographer. Due to a standing collaboration between Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography, the Museum will be the only institution to host this fascinating and rich exhibition.
“The Center for Creative Photography is among the most highly-respected photographic collections in the world and the only one to have such a personal relationship with Adams and his work,” commented James Ballinger, The Sybil Harrington Director, Phoenix Art Museum. “It is the Center’s connection to and understanding of Adams that distinguishes this show from all other Adams exhibitions. Phoenix Art Museum is thrilled to host an exhibition of this magnitude as part of our landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography. It is also personally rewarding for me, as I met Adams at the opening of the Center in 1975.”
– Works from Adams’ first portfolio, Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras, as well as his first photo album (1916) made following his first visit to Yosemite on family vacation.
– Photographs of New Mexican Indians from the late 1920s and southwestern landscapes, including Canyon de Chelly, San Xavier del Bac and Aspens, New Mexico.
– Adams’s masterpiece Moonrise, Hernandez , New Mexico , 1941, presented alongside the negative, Adams ’s printing notes and an alternate print that demonstrates the dramatic range of interpretations the photographer applied to his famous work.
– A range of images initially made as color film transparencies which replicate the vibrancy and luminosity of Adams ’s originals.
– Course descriptions, film footage, and photographs of participants that help convey the experience of Adams ’s workshops.
– Instructional manuals which demonstrate his dedication to sharing his knowledge of the medium.
“The goal of Ansel Adams: Discoveries is to provide a deeper understanding of Adams’ iconic and adored photographs,” commented Rebecca Senf, Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography, Phoenix Art Museum. “The historic material mined from the Center’s archives enriches our understanding of the artwork so that we can simultaneously show Adams’ masterpieces alongside unfamiliar works and provide new perspectives of each.”
Ansel Adams: Discoveries is presented by Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography in the Museum’s Steele Gallery January 31 through June 6, 2010.
The exhibition is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography.
Phoenix Art Museum is the Southwest’s premier destination for world-class visual arts. Popular exhibitions featuring artists such as Rembrandt, Norman Rockwell, Annie Leibowitz and Monet are shown along side the Museum’s outstanding collection of more than 18,000 works of
American, Asian, European, Latin American, Western American, modern and contemporary art,
and fashion design. A community epicenter for nearly fifty years, Phoenix Art Museum presents festivals, live performances, independent art films and educational programs that enlighten, entertain
and stimulate. Visitors also enjoy PhxArtKids an interactive space for children, vibrant photography
exhibitions through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, the lushly landscaped Sculpture Garden, dining at Arcadia Farms at Phoenix Art Museum, and shopping at The Museum Store.
To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit PhxArt.org