Artist Profile | Photography

Ansel Easton Adams

Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 - April 22, 1984) was an American landscape and environmental photographer best known for his black-and-white images of the American West. He helped establish the f / 64 group, an association of photographers who advocated "pure" photography, preferring high-resolution accuracy and the use of a full gray image spectrum. He used to capture and expand the range of white, gray, and black tones during exposure. The precise development of the print, the sharpness, and the depth of such images were his hallmarks. Adams was a lifelong advocate for environmental protection, and his photographic performance was deeply rooted in that support. At the age of 12, he was given his first camera on his first visit to Yosemite National Park. He developed his early photographic work as a member of the Sierra Club. He later contracted with the US Department of the Interior to photograph national parks. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980 for his work and continued support that helped expand the national park system. Adams was a key consultant in establishing a photography department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, an important milestone in ensuring the legitimacy of the photographic institution. He helped set up the department's first photography exhibition, co-founded Aperture Photography Magazine, and established the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona.