Ansel Adams
American, 1902 - 1984Sand Dunes, Sunrise, Death Valley, National Monument, California, printed 1971
Not on view
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions19 5/8 × 15 3/4 in.
Gift of Dr. Seymour and Barbara K. Adelson, 2017.1
American artist Ansel Adams, one of the best-known photographers in the world, shot this image in 1948 in Death Valley National Park, which straddles the border of California and Nevada. Adams’s black-and-white photographs of the American West are now iconic, and during his lifetime, he used these works to promote conservation and awareness of wilderness areas. Born in 1902 in San Francisco, California, he began experimenting with photography after a trip to Yosemite National Park in 1916. His love for photographing the outdoors and passion for the environment continued throughout his lifetime. In his autobiography, published shortly before his death in 1984, Adams described the circumstances surrounding this photograph, which is the first work by this artist to enter the FIA collection: “I remember many sunrises in Death Valley, especially one near Stovepipe Wells in 1948. After sleeping on the camera platform atop my car, I woke before dawn, made some coffee and stoked my stomach with beans reheated from last night’s supper. I then perched my camera and tripod across my shoulders and plodded heavily through the shifting sand dunes, attempting to find just the right light upon just the right dune. The sun floated above the margins of the Funeral Range, promising a very hot day. Just then, almost magically, I saw an image become substance: the light of sunrise traced a perfect line down a dune that alternately glowed with the light and receded in the shadow. The result is Sand Dunes, Sunrise, Death Valley National Monument.”
