Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
American, 1902-1984
The San Francisco–born photographer Ansel Adams is celebrated for his majestic black-and-white photography that brought the deserts, mountains and forests of the American West to the public. His images, beloved for their raw beauty and the magic of their subjects, are known around the world and widely reproduced as calendars and posters.
A sickly child with little attraction to sports or games, Adams early on developed an avid interest in the natural surroundings of his San Francisco home, on the heights facing Golden Gate Park. This passion found a productive outlet in photography, which he discovered at 14, when his father gave him his first camera during a family trip to Yosemite National Park. He spent much of the ensuing decades capturing Yosemite’s vast and varied wonders.
Adams’s photographs were first published in 1921. Even these early efforts demonstrate his eye for composition and his sensitivity to tonal balance and textural contrast. In the mid-1920s, he began to play with soft focus, as in the dreamy 1927 Lyell Fork Meadows, which appears bathed in a hazy, nostalgic light. The 1948 Sunrise over Sand Dunes in Death Valley exemplifies Adams’s later experiments with stark contrasts in light and geometric framing, which transform the landscape into a near abstraction.
Find a collection of Ansel Adams photography today on 1stDibs.
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Artist: Ansel Adams
East Vidette
By Ansel Adams
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed (AE Adams), titled, printed on the front of print. Rare vintage parmelian print from 1927.
Category
1920s Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Mudhills, Arizona, 1947
By Ansel Adams
Located in Rochester Hills, MI
Ansel Adams
Mudhills, Arizona, 1947,
Portfolio V
Gelatin silver print, plate 2 from the portfolio "Portfolio V"
Signed and marked 22/100
1970
Black and white photograph.
Photograph size 15 x 19.5 inches.
Dry mounted to board and matted 23 x 29 inches
Titled on Back of photograph
Ansel Adams was born on February 20, 1902, in San Francisco, California. Adams rose to prominence as a photographer of the American West, particularly Yosemite National Park, using his work to promote conservation of wilderness areas. ... He died in Monterey, California, on April
1945 Ansel Adams founds the first fine art photography department at the San Francisco Art Institute. Faculty include Dorothea Lange, Imogen Cunningham, Minor White...
Category
1970s Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Fern Spring, Dusk, Yosemite
By Ansel Adams
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This silver gelatin print with exemplary provenance is unsigned but bears several stamps from the artist's family on the back of the mount, including the authentication stamp of Adam...
Category
1960s Modern Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Lyell Fork Meadows
By Ansel Adams
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed on the front of the print. Printed circa 1927.
Category
1920s Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
The Abode of Snow
By Ansel Adams
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed with printed title on the front of the print. Very early parmelian print by Ansel Adams.
Category
1920s Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Yosemite Valley from Wawona Tunnel
By Ansel Adams
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This silver gelatin print was made in the 1960’s under the artist's supervision, bearing Ansel Adams's full ink signature on the front of the mount with the Special Edition Yosemite ...
Category
1930s Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Rapids Below Vernal Fall, Yosemite, CA
By Ansel Adams
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This vintage silver gelatin contact print is signed in pencil on the front of the mount, with Portfolio One stamp and numbering in red crayon on the back of the mount. This print com...
Category
1940s Modern Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Silverton, Colorado
By Ansel Adams
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed and numbered on the front of the mount by Ansel Adams. Stamped and titled on the back of the mount. From Portolio VI-4; 55/110. Printed in 1974.
Category
1970s Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Buddhist Grave Markers and Rainbow, Maui, Hawaii
By Ansel Adams
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This silver gelatin print is signed in pencil on the front of the mount with BMFA 11 stamp, title and date in ink on the back of the mount. An inventory number in pencil on the back ...
Category
1950s Modern Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
$12,000 Sale Price
20% Off
Moth and Stump, Interglacial Forest, Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska
By Ansel Adams
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This vintage silver gelatin print is signed in pencil on the front of the mount, with image number "6" in the lower left corner. Portfolio Two stamp with print #6 and set #A in red c...
Category
1940s Modern Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
The Abode of Snow
By Ansel Adams
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed with printed title on front of print. From 'Parmelian Prints of the High Sierra', limited edition of 100 copies.
Category
20th Century Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Gravestone Detail
By Ansel Adams
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This silver gelatin print is initialed "AA" in felt-tip ink either by the artist or an unknown hand on the front of the mount. This print comes from the collection of the artist's da...
Category
1940s Modern Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Roots, Foster Gardens, Honolulu
By Ansel Adams
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed in pencil on front of mount with Portfolio One stamp and numbering in red crayon on back. Anne Helms’ (daughter of Ansel Adams) personal collection stamp on back of mount. Fro...
Category
20th Century Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Hoover Dam, Power Generator, Nevada
By Ansel Adams
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This incredibly rare, early silver gelatin print mounted to "shirt" board was likely printed in the 1940s. The Virginia Adams Collection stamp with her inventory number in pencil on ...
Category
1940s Modern Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Dead Tree, Sunset Crater National Monument, Arizona
By Ansel Adams
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This vintage silver gelatin print is signed in pencil on the front of the mount, with image number "11" in the lower left corner. Portfolio Two stamp with print #11 and set #A in red...
Category
1940s Modern Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Cedar Fence, Pojoaque, New Mexico
By Ansel Adams
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This silver gelatin print is signed in pencil on the front of the mount. Post-BMFA 11 studio stamp with title in ink on the front of the mount. An inscription by Adams' assistant "Pr...
Category
1950s Modern Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
White Stumps, Sierra Nevada, CA
By Ansel Adams
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed by the artist mount recto and with artist's stamp mount verso.
Category
20th Century Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Sunset Hills, CA, (Creek and rocks)
By Ansel Adams
Located in Westwood, NJ
Carmel credit stamps on verso titled in ink by Adams on stamp. signed in ink on mount.
Gallery 270 represents distinguished photographers of the 20th Century and the emergent photog...
Category
20th Century Contemporary Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada from Lone Pine, California
By Ansel Adams
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Ansel Adams
Winter Sunrise, The Sierra Nevada, From Lone Pine, California, 1944
Signed on recto, Stamped, titled and dated on verso.
Category
20th Century Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Interior of Tumacoacori Mission, Arizona
By Ansel Adams
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed and numbered on front of mount. Portfolio VII stamp with title, negative and print dates on back of mount. From the limited edition of 115 of which there were 100 for sale cop...
Category
20th Century Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
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Banner Peak, Thousand Island Lake, Central Sierra
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This vintage silver gelatin photograph, printed in the late 1920s on Kodak Vitava Athena paper, is signed in pencil beneath the image with a typeset title centered in the lower margi...
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Fern Spring, Dusk, Yosemite
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Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite
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Ansel Adams black and white photography for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Ansel Adams black and white photography available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Ansel Adams in silver gelatin print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Photorealist style. Not every interior allows for large Ansel Adams black and white photography, so small editions measuring 5 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of James Whitlow Delano, Paul Caponigro, and Lillian Bassman. Ansel Adams black and white photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $7,000 and tops out at $400,000, while the average work can sell for $13,000.
Artists Similar to Ansel Adams
Questions About Ansel Adams Black and White Photography
- What was Ansel Adams concept?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Photographer Ansel Adams spoke of the ‘Art of Visualization’ around his photography methods. This concept revolves around the photographer imagining where the audience’s eye will move across a scene before taking the shot. Visualization helps the photographer frame a scene in a way that aligns with their intent. Shop a collection of Ansel Adams photography from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.
- 1stDibs ExpertNovember 4, 2024To identify Ansel Adams prints, look on the back for a stamp that says "Photograph by Ansel Adams." This marking appears on nearly all Adams prints, and many also display the photographer's signature. If you'd like to learn more about the name and history of the image shown on your print, there are many online catalogues that you can refer to. A certified appraiser or knowledgeable art dealer can also be of assistance. On 1stDibs, shop an assortment of Ansel Adams photography.
- 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 1, 2024Ansel Adams' most famous photo is open for debate. One of his first photographs to draw attention from the public was 1927's Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, an image of the Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. Other notable photos by Adams include Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico; Half Dome, Merced River, Winter, Yosemite National Park, California; San Francisco From Twin Peaks and Sand Dunes, Sunrise, Death Valley National Monument, California. On 1stDibs, explore a wide variety of Ansel Adams art.
- 1stDibs ExpertOctober 7, 2024To know if your Ansel Adams print is real, first check online and print catalogues to see if the photograph is a known work of Ansel Adams. Snapping a photo of your print and then performing a reverse image search can jumpstart this process. If you don't find the photograph attributed to Adams, your piece is unlikely to be real. Should your search prove successful, next look for any signatures and markings on the front and back of the print. Reproductions produced after Adams's work will usually say "Photography by Ansel Adams," while originals may be signed by the photographer or have an Adams stamp or label on the back. If you still need assistance with the evaluation process, a certified appraiser or knowledgeable art dealer can be of assistance. On 1stDibs, find a collection of Ansel Adams prints.