A Grand Vision: The David H. Arrington Collection of Ansel Adams Masterworks

Ansel Adams

Dawn, Autumn Forest, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

Auction Closed

December 14, 10:16 PM GMT

Estimate

7,000 - 10,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Ansel Adams

1902 - 1984

Dawn, Autumn Forest, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

gelatin silver print, mounted, signed in pencil on the mount, the photographer's Carmel studio stamp, with title in ink, on the reverse, framed, an Andrew Smith Gallery, Santa Fe, label on the reverse, 1948, printed later

image: 19 1/2 by 14 3/4 in. (49.5 by 37.5 cm.)

frame: 35 1/2 by 29 1/2 in. (90.2 by 74.9 cm.)

This print is in generally excellent condition.

There is a small satin at the center right on the reverse and 'AA/2070' is written in pencil in an unidentified hand.

Although Karen Haas's and Rebecca Senf's book, 'Ansel Adams in the Lane Collection,' publishes the most comprehensive list to date of the studio stamps and labels Adams used throughout his career, the Carmel studio stamp on the reverse of the present mount is not included. The stamp, similar to BMFA 11, but with the zip code '93923,' is dated with the negative date, 1948, in an unidentified hand in ink.

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.

Broschofsky Gallery, Ketchum, 2007, Andrew Smith Gallery, Santa Fe, as agent

Ansel Adams, The Camera (Boston, 1980), fig. 5-1

James Alinder and John Szarkowski, Ansel Adams: Classic Images (Boston, 1985), pl. 39

Janet Swan Bush, ed., Trees (Boston, 2004), p. 94

Liliane de Cock Morgan, ed., Ansel Adams (Hastings on Hudson, 1972), pl. 53

Karen E. Haas and Rebecca A. Senf, Ansel Adams in the Lane Collection (Boston, 2005), pl. 56

Andrea Gray Stillman and William A. Turnage, eds., Ansel Adams: Our National Parks (Boston, 1992), p. 106

Andrea Gray Stillman, ed., Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs (Boston, 2007), p. 240

John Szarkowski, The Portfolios of Ansel Adams (Boston, 1977), p. 35

U. S. Camera 1953 (New York, 1952), p. 222

Modena, Fondazione Cassa de Risparmio de Modena, Ansel Adams La Natura è il mio Regno, September 2011 – January 2012

Lubbock, Texas Tech University, Ansel Adams: American Master, Selections from the David H. Arrington Collection, August 2015 – January 2016

'The magic camera of Ansel Adams never fails to delight the eye with the magnificent scenery that it beholds. . .The photograph of the Great Smoky Mountains forest was made in pre-dawn light on an autumn morning. The picture, one of a series made while Adams was working on a Guggenheim project is magnificent in the silvery tones of the trees. Technique is shown here, completely harnessed to be the servant of the artist.' (U. S. Camera 1953, p. 226)