$13,530
Ansel Adams (American, 1902-1984) Leaves and Raindrops, Glacier Bay National Monument , c. 1948. Unsigned. Mural-sized gelatin silver print mounted on 3/4 inch plywood, image/sheet size 46 x 38 1/8 in., unframed. Condition: Subtle varnish discoloration and crazing, 1 1/2 inch tear u.c., upper edge of sheet lifting from mount. Provenance: Gift of the artist to Martha Stiles on the occasion of her marriage to Paul Lawrence, noted Harvard Business School professor and longtime resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1948; by bequest to the Cambridge Community Foundation, 2015. N.B. While best-known for his majestic views of the American West, Ansel Adams was also drawn to details of the natural world. His interest in printing mural-size photographs began in the mid-1930s. They were typically affixed to plywood or Masonite panels and coated with a thin layer of varnish. Adams preferred a smooth, matte double-weight paper with neutral tone, and sought out subjects like this detail of leaves and grass with raindrops that emphasized "design, pattern, and sheer beauty of tonal relationships." [1] 1. Ansel Adams, "Photo-Murals," U.S. Camera I, no. 12 (November 1940): 53. This print is from negative number 4-C-535 in the Ansel Adams Archive, Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, Arizona.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2017-05-19
