Ansel Adams (1902-1984) is one of the most well know art photographers in the world.
Although Adams could have easily become a concert pianist instead of a photographer, fate had alternative plans for Adams. At the age of 14, Adams took a vacation with his family to see the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He fell in love with the majesty of the landscape; the rest, as they say, was history.
Ansel Adams’ landscape photos reflected the sublime essence of nature as a spiritual place. Adams was a protégé of Alfred Stieglitz, a leading advocate for the photography-as-art movement. Stieglitz, who was the husband of Georgia O’Keeffe, created compositions focused on tonal nuances; his color range moved from clear whites to inky blacks.
Adams felt humans and animals must live in balance with the natural world. He was a prominent political activist for his entire life, fighting tirelessly for the preservation of the American wilderness. His body of work includes countless photos from the National Parks; more than 40,000 negatives and 10,000 signed fine art prints. Although his work focused primarily on landscape, he did photograph Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.
Other accomplishments of note for Adams include: creation of “A Pageant of Photography” in 1940, training of military photographers to support the war effort, three-time recipient of Guggenheim Fellowships, establishment of the photography department at the California School of Fine Arts, work on Proposition 20 (authorization for California to regulate development along the coast), and starting the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona.