Ansel Adams, Monolith, The Face of Half Dome, 1927/print ca. 1960, gelatin silver print on paper, H. 28 x W. 20.7 centimeters. George Eastman House Collection Purchase. Copyright © 2003 by the Trustees of the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.

There is a $4 special fee for this exhibition.

Sponsored by Anthony & Sylvan Pools, Heath's Service, Inc., Sylvan Properties, Inc., Thomas L. Newman, Wachovia Securities and Wetherill Opticians, Inc.

Inspired by the 100th anniversary of Adams's birth in 2002, George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film revisited its extensive collection of Adams's work, creating a new exhibition of 150 photographs that reflects Adams's full career. The Michener is the only venue in the mid-Atlantic states to host this spectacular exhibition.

While many come to know Adams's work through widely published books, postcards, posters and calendars, relatively few have actually seen his lushly printed original images. His stunning landscapes and intimate still lifes of nature continue to captivate viewers.

"Ansel Adams: Celebration of Genius" presents work from the 1920s through the 1960s, including an early 1927 portfolio (one of only fifty produced) of Parmelian prints (gelatin silver emulsion on parchment paper). For the first time, George Eastman House is pleased to include this portfolio from its collection in this exhibition. Featured are many of Adams's most famous images of the American West — Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941; Mount Williamson from Manzanar, California, ca. 1944; and Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, 1927. But prepare to discover equally stupendous (if less well-known), images such as Mud Hills, Arizona or Water and Foam, or the wonderful abstract titled simply, Stained Wallpaper Near Alturas, Calif. Many will be surprised to see that Adams did not confine himself to landscapes, but also made portraits and other subjects as humble as fence posts into images nearly as monumental as his beloved mountain ranges.

In the course of his long life, he would produce eight portfolios and have work in more than 500 exhibitions. A prolific writer, he published thirty-seven books and hundreds of articles about photography. Adams cared deeply about the wilderness and was an ardent environmental conservationist. His first job was as custodian of the Sierra Club lodge in Yosemite Valley, which led him to many friendships within the conservation movement. He would serve on the Sierra Club board of directors for thirty-seven years and was active in the Wilderness Society. His photographs were used in support of many environmental issues. Adams personally lobbied several presidents and Congress on behalf of wilderness preservation.

This project is supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

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