'Ansel Adams: Masterworks'

Ansel Adams (1902–1984) profoundly influenced the course of 20th century photography through his innovative and technical approach to the medium. In 1979, at the age of seventy-seven, Adams began reflecting on his artistic legacy. With the help of gallerist Maggie Weston, he assembled a collection of images that he considered to be representative of his finest work.

The result was the “Museum Set,” a portfolio of seventy-five photographs that spanned from 1923 to 1969. Intended to make Adams’ work accessible on a large scale, the project allowed collectors to purchase prints from the portfolio on the condition that they would eventually be donated to a museum or educational institution.

Ansel Adams: Masterworks features a collection of forty-eight photographs from the “Museum Set.” Included in this presentation are many of the breathtaking landscapes—taken at national parks in California, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Texas—for which the artist is best known.

The exhibition also features examples that speak to the breadth of Adams’ interest, such as architectural structures, natural landscapes, cultural sites, and portraits taken across Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, New Mexico, and New York. Together, these works represent a selection of the artist’s most famous and best-loved photographs and encompass the full scope of his life’s work.