Ansel Adams

mural-sized, signed with a stylus on the image, flush-mounted to heavy board, annotation in ink on the reverse, framed, 1944, probably printed in the 1950s or 1960s

Acquired from Michael Shapiro Gallery, San Francisco, in the early 1990s

Gainesville, The Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Ansel Adams: Visualizing the American Landscape, May – August 2004

San Francisco, The Friends of Photography, Ansel Adams Center for Photography, Defining Modernism: Group f.64, October - December 2001

Andrea G. Stillman, Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs (Boston, 2007), p. 245

Ansel Adams (Morgan & Morgan, 1972), pl. 77

Ansel Adams, Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs (Boston, 2002), p. 162

John Szarkowski, Ansel Adams at 100 (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2001), pl. 85

James Alinder and John Szarkowski, Ansel Adams: Classic Images (Boston, 1985), pl. 38

Ansel Adams: Yosemite and the Range of Light (Boston, 1979), pl. 99

Nancy Newhall, Ansel Adams: The Eloquent Light, Photographs 1923-1963 (San Francisco, 1963), unpaginated

Ansel Adams, Ansel Adams: An Autobiography (Boston, 1985), p. 262

This impressive, early mural-sized print, on smooth paper with a slight surface sheen, is in generally good condition. It is mounted to thick, five-ply board, and as is typical of prints in this presentation, there are losses and chipping at the edges. Upon close examination and in raking light, the following are visible: random small deposits of original retouching, most noticeably around the 'L P'; small mounting bubbles, primarily in the lower portion; a fingerprint at the lower left edge; 2 small, transparent droplet deposits; small impressions that do not appear to break the emulsion; and linear offsetting from the mat edge. The annotation at the lower right corner on the reverse is 'MRS. KAREN WALKER.' The reverse of the mount is brown and is abraded in several places. This photograph is in a modern frame, and it is glazed.
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.
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