Jasper Johns Prints: Things the Mind Already Knows

Ansel Adams</a> (American, 1902 –1984) created powerful, iconic images that redefined visual conceptions of the American West. His dramatic landscapes, haunting stands of trees, and exquisite details of the natural world reveal his utter mastery of focus as well as his command of black and white photography’s rich tonal properties. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see a selection of 25 photographs by Adams from the Museum of Fine Art’s permanent collection. These include the artist’s celebrated Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico and Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite Valley, and lesser-known works such as Grass in Rain, Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska and Fern, Valley Floor.</p><p>From an early age, Adams was a passionate advocate for environmental conservation. His photographic practice—which started when he was gifted a camera during a visit to Yosemite National Park at age 14—reflects his respect and reverence for the natural world. The quiet intensity of the images he created belonged to the pure or straight photographic movement. This approach espoused high contrasts, sharp focus, lush tonal qualities, uncropped compositions, and often a sense of underlying geometry. Like other members of that movement, Adams applied common darkroom techniques to enhance the appearance of his photographs. With his unerring eye for grand, theatrical vistas and profound detail, Adams’s subtle manipulations of his work resulted in the seemingly unstudied yet profoundly moving photographs of the American West.</p><p><br></p>" />