Adams (Ansel) photograph collection, 1926-1946

Summary

Title:

Ansel Adams photograph collection

Dates:

1926-1946

Abstract:

Contains 26 black and white photographic prints taken by Ansel Easton Adams. Date of creation of photographs is unknown, although notations on back of some photographs indicate they were taken prior to 1936. Photographs include nature and landscape scenes; portraits; and city scenes of San Francisco. There are two sets of photographs showing murals by Diego Rivera and Gottardo Piazzoni. Also includes two photographs Adams took for the American Trust Company.

Extent:

2.60 Linear Feet (1 half legal document box and 1 flat box)

Language:

English .

Preferred citation:

[identification of item, date], Ansel Adams photograph collection(PC RM Adams). California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Contains 26 black and white photographic prints taken by Ansel Easton Adams. Dates of creation of photographs is unknown, although notations on backs of some photographs indicate they were taken prior to 1936. Photographs show nature and landscape scenes in the Sierra Nevada, Yosemite Valley, and Sequoia National Park; portraits of Sigmund Stern, Charles E. Wood, Domenico Brescia, Ina Coolbrith and Erich Leinsdorf; and city scenes of San Francisco. There are two sets of photographs of murals. The first set is two panoramas made up of five prints depicting murals done by Gottardo Piazzoni that were displayed at the San Francisco Public Library; the second is three photographic prints of a Diego Rivera mural, Still Life and Blossoming Almond Trees, displayed at the Stern residence in Atherton, California. There are two photographs Adams took for the American Trust Company, one shows a pioneer family in New Melony, California, the other a view of Gilroy Valley from Fremont Peak. Many of the photographs were gifts from Ansel Adams to Albert M. Bender, given between 1927 and 1936.

Biographical / historical:

Ansel Easton Adams was born in San Francisco on February 20, 1902. Adams started photographing nature scenes around 1919 while a Sierra Club member. In 1927 Adams came under the patronage of Albert M. Bender, who helped Adams publish his first portfolio. Widely known as a photographer of natural landscapes, most especially for his images of the Sierra Nevada and Yosemity Valley, Adams was also an environmental perservationist. In 1974 Adams had a major retrospective exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Adams died in Monterey, California on April 22, 1984.

Acquisition information:

Provenance is unknown. Transferred to Stanford University Libraries in 2025.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Portraits
Photographic prints

Places:

Bridalveil Fall (Calif.) -- Pictorial works
Yosemite Valley (Calif.) -- Pictorial works
Half Dome (Calif.) -- Pictorial works
San Francisco (Calif.) -- Pictorial works
Sequoia National Park (Calif.) -- Pictorial works

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:

Jaime Henderson

Date Encoded:

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-12-04 15:40:23 -0800 .

Restrictions:

Open for research. Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged three business days in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: https://library.stanford.edu/libraries/special-collections.

Terms of access:

While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/spc/using-collections/permission-publish.

Preferred citation:

[identification of item, date], Ansel Adams photograph collection(PC RM Adams). California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California.

Location of this collection:

Stanford University, California Historical Society Collection at Stanford

Department of Special Collections, Green Library

557 Escondido Mall

Stanford, CA 94305-6004, US

Contact:

(650) 725-1022

chscollection@stanford.edu

Website