Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2018.

Eagle Peak and Middle Brother, Winter, Yosemite National Park, California

Artist Ansel Adams (American, 1902-1984)

CultureAmerican

Dateca. 1968

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 10 × 13 1/4 in. (25.4 × 33.7 cm)
16 1/4 × 20 in. (41.3 × 50.8 cm)
Overall, Mat: 24 × 30 in. (61 × 76.2 cm)

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

Object number83.633.3

Not on view

DescriptionThis is a gelatin silver print photograph.

Label TextAnsel Adams American, 1902–1984 Eagle Peak and Middle Brother, Winter, Yosemite National Park, California, ca. 1968 Gelatin silver print, ca. 1980 When Adams began working on The Museum Set project, he was preoccupied by the controversial appointment of James G. Watt as President Reagan’s secretary of interior. Watt promoted foresting, oil drilling, and coal mining on federal lands, and Adams feared his policies would undermine years of efforts to preserve national parks and protect the environment. Adams held a daily letter-writing campaign for more than two years in which he called the administration’s policies “disastrous,” “a tragedy,” and “the Pearl Harbor of our American Earth.” Reagan eventually met with Adams to quell his concerns, but Adams left the meeting disappointed, saying their differences were insurmountable: “It’s like the sea wall. The breakers come in and crash and the water rushes over the wall but the sea wall remains.” Gift of Dr. and Mrs. T. Lane Stokes 83.633.3 Exhibition History"Ansel Adams Photography," Kaufman Theatre Lobby, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA., May 23 - September 7, 2008. "From Ansel Adams to Infinity," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, September 21, 2018 - January 27, 2019.