The Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Artist
Ansel Adams
(American, 1902-1984)
CultureAmerican
Date1942
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 15 1/8 × 19 5/8 in. (38.4 × 49.8 cm)
Overall, Support: 21 7/8 × 26 5/8 in. (55.6 × 67.6 cm)
Overall, Frame: 24 × 28 in. (61 × 71.1 cm)
Signedsigned in pencil, lower right corner of mat: "Ansel Adams"
PortfolioMuseum Set Edition
Credit LineGift of Selina and Tom Stokes
Object number2016.33.3
Label TextAnsel Adams
American, 1902–1984
The Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, 1942
Gelatin silver print, 1980
When Adams made this photograph in 1942, he was working on a commission for the National Park Service. The agency hired Adams to create a photo mural for the Department of the Interior Building in Washington that would highlight the Park Service’s efforts to protect America’s natural wonders. When the United States entered World War II, the commission was abandoned, and the mural was never realized.
The image received universal attention 35 years later, however, when it was included in the Voyager Golden Record. The record contains a collection of images and sounds that describe life on Earth, and it was launched aboard the Voyager spacecraft in 1977 in hopes of connecting with alien civilizations.
Gift of Selina and Tom Stokes 2016.33.3
ProvenanceThe artist, Carmel, California; printed 1980 as part of a Museum Set Edition
Dr. and Mrs. T. Lane Stokes, Norfolk, Virginia, acquired from the artist’s studio, March 12, 1981
Tom and Selina Stokes, Norfolk, Virginia, October 1981 to present
Exhibition History"Our Community Collects: From Durer to Warhol and Beyond," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, September 21, 2011 - December 31, 2011.
"From Ansel Adams to Infinity," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, September 21, 2018 - January 27, 2019.
