Ansel Adams

oversized, mounted to Flaxon illustration board, signed in ink on the mount, the photographer's Carmel studio stamps (BMFA 6 and 7), with title in ink, on the reverse, framed, 1941, printed circa 1969; accompanied by the original typed correspondence on the photographer's Carmel studio letterhead (2)

Acquired from the photographer, 1969

Ansel Adams (Morgan & Morgan, 1972), pl. 63

James Alinder and John Szarkowski, Ansel Adams: Classic Images (Boston, 1985), pl. 32

Andrea G. Stillman, ed., Ansel Adams: The Grand Canyon and the Southwest (Boston, 2000), frontispiece

John Szarkowski, Ansel Adams at 100 (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2001), pl. 96

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

Karen E. Haas and Rebecca A. Senf, Ansel Adams in the Lane Collection (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2005), pl. 37

Andrea G. Stillman, Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs (Boston, 2007), p. 175

This impressive oversized print is in generally excellent condition. Upon extremely close examination in high raking light, faint superficial scratches are barely discernible in the sky area. This very possibly occurred during processing or the mounting process, and does not detract in any way from the fine appearance of this print. There is a tiny deposit of indeterminate nature to the left of the moon, as well as some original retouching mostly in the lower half of the print. The mount is faintly age-darkened overall. The reverse of the mount is hinged to the overmat with 3 small pieces of linen tape.
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.

The oversized print of Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, offered here, made in the late 1960s, is not only larger than the 16-by-20-inch-format prints that Adams typically made throughout his career, but also even larger than the 20-by-24-inch-format edition commissioned by Lunn Gallery in 1975. 

This print of Adams’s best-known image was acquired directly from the photographer in 1969, after the present owner saw Moonrise on exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  When Adams prepared to print the photograph offered here, he wrote to its buyer, ‘I shall be pleased to make up this print at the earliest opportubity [sic].  I cannot guarantee it will be “exactly” identical to the one you saw in the Museum, but it will be equally good— if not better!’  Indeed, this particular rendering has a wide range of tones, especially in the sky area, not typically associated with prints made in this era.  Wispy clouds, obscured in other darker prints made in this period, are clearly visible in this print.  This photograph has remained in the same collection for over four decades.

Adams made the 8-by-10-inch negative for Moonrise in the late afternoon of 1 November 1941, while photographing in the Southwest on behalf of the U. S. Department of the Interior and the U. S. Potash Company of New Mexico.  Driving back to his motel after an unproductive day of photographing, Adams passed the tiny town of Hernandez.  Struck by the quality of light upon the town and its attendant cemetery, he immediately pulled the car over to the side of the road and hastily assembled his equipment.  Adams was able to make just one exposure before the sun sank behind a bank of clouds, and the light changed completely.