Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2018.

White House Ruins, Canyon De Chelly National Monument, Arizona

Artist Ansel Adams (American, 1902-1984)

CultureAmerican

Date1942, printed ca. 1982

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 19 11/16 × 14 5/8 in. (50 × 37.1 cm)
Overall, Mat: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)

Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. T. Lane Stokes

Object number83.633.8

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is a gelatin silver print photograph.

Label TextAnsel Adams American, 1902–1984 White House Ruins, Canyon De Chelly National Monument, Arizona, 1942 Gelatin silver print, ca. 1980 After taking this photograph, Adams recalled that he had seen a similar image made almost 70 years earlier by Timothy O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan’s photograph, created for a geological survey, was deliberately spare, which appealed to Adams’s artistic sensibility. Although O’Sullivan believed his camera could perfectly capture reality, Adams believed that cameras convey an artist’s experience by distilling and intensifying visual appearances. As seen here, Adams used sharp focus, heavy contrast, and patterning to dramatize the rock wall and suggest how nature could serve as a spiritual refuge. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. T. Lane Stokes 83.633.8 Exhibition History"Ansel Adams: A Celebration," Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina, May 11--August 4, 2002. "The World of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 20, 2007 - May 25, 2008. "New Light on Land: Photographs from the Chrysler Collection," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, January 28 - May 15, 2016. "From Ansel Adams to Infinity," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, September 21, 2018 - January 27, 2019.