Thursday, February 21, 2013

Ansel Adams: Masterworks



Berkshire Museum presents the special photography exhibition Ansel Adams: Masterworks from February 9 to June 2, 2013. An opening reception will be held Saturday, February 9, from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibition features forty-eight works by Ansel Adams (1902 – 1984), about two-thirds of a selection Adams made late in his life to serve as a succinct representation of his life’s work. He himself felt these photographs were his best. The images are from the Collection of the Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding, CA.

Called “The Museum Set,” these works reveal the importance Adams placed on the drama and splendor of natural environments, from Yosemite National Park to a secluded grove of aspens; from the Sierra Nevada range to a barn in Cape Cod. Included are many of Adams’ most famous and best-loved photographs which encompass the full scope of his work: elegant details of nature, architectural studies, portraits, and the breathtaking landscapes for which he is revered.


The exhibition also includes a photo portrait of Ansel Adams by James Alinder.

In a career that spanned more than five decades Ansel Adams became one of America’s most beloved landscape photographers and one of its more respected environmentalists. There are few artists whose name and works represent the extraordinary level of popular recognition and artistic achievement as that of Ansel Adams. Adams profoundly influenced the course of 20th century photography not only through his sumptuous and technically precise images, but also by means of his devotion to advancing the cause of photography as an art form. As an artist, educator, innovator, and writer, he helped establish many of the institutions that have come to represent the highest aspirations of the medium of photography.

The collection was donated to Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Redding, CA, by Dr. Fidel Realyvasquez in 2002. Turtle Bay Exploration Park is a 300-acre cultural complex located in Northern California on the Sacramento River. Its facilities include a museum with permanent, interactive exhibits and two large special exhibition galleries. The traveling exhibition is organized by Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Redding, CA, in association with Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA.



Ansel Adams (American, 1902-1984), “Orchard”, Portola Valley, California, c. 1940. Gelatin silver print. Photo; Courtesy: Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Redding, CA. ©Ansel Adams Publishing Right



Oak Tree, Snowstorm



Trailer Camp Children



Rose and Driftwood



Siesta Lake



The Tetons and the Snake River



Road, Nevada Desert



Sand Dunes