Ansel Adams

mural-sized, sepia toned, mounted to Homasote board, framed, circa 1940, probably printed in the 1950s

Sotheby's New York, 6 October 1999, Sale 7348, Lot 154

Ansel Adams and Nancy Newhall, The Pageant of History in Northern California (San Francisco, 1954), pl. 56 (variant)

This mammoth, mural-sized, sepia-toned photograph has not been examined out of its frame. It appears to be in generally very good condition. It was printed by Moulin Studios or General Graphics on two sheets of paper, each measuring approximately 35 1/2 by 96 inches, which are joined and mounted almost seamlessly. Subtle, warm-toned discoloration is visible at the seam, but this does not detract from the overall fine appearance of this impressive print. A few deposits of original retouching are visible only under raking light. Upon close examination, some discreet, white, fibrous accretions are visible in the sky area at the center of the image. There are a few light brown liquid droplets at the upper right in the sky area.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

During the 1930s and early 1940s, Adams made many photographs from Inspiration Point, culminating in his 1944 Clearing Winter Storm (see Lot 14). Several variants of this image exist. One was reproduced in Adams’s book Yosemite Valley in 1959, and another was used on a Hills Brothers coffee can in 1970.

Adams's first foray into making mural-sized photographs came in 1935, when he was asked by his employer at the time, the Yosemite Park & Curry Company, to undertake a series of murals of Yosemite for the San Diego Exposition of that year. He became an articulate spokesman for the form, writing articles such as 'Photo-Murals' for US Camera in November 1940, and including discussions of mural theory and practice in books such as his own The Print: Contact Printing and Enlarging of 1968. 'I was fascinated with the challenge of making a photographic print in grand scale,' Adams wrote in his autobiography. 'Many of my large-format Yosemite negatives took on a new resonance in mural-sized proportions' (Ansel Adams: An Autobiography, p. 187).

The present mammoth, mural-sized print was one of a series executed in the mid-1950s for the American Trust Company (later taken over by Wells Fargo Bank), for their offices on Montgomery Street between Washington and Clay Streets in San Francisco. These murals were printed in sections, by the Moulin Studios or General Graphics in San Francisco. The sections were so large that they were developed in mammoth trays, then mounted with wheat paste to Homasote board.