Ansels Adam at the American Art Gallery

[jdrose]

<p>Hello, I visited the O'Keefe and Adams exhibit at the American Art Gallery in Washington D.C.</p>

<p>http://www.americanart.si.edu/</p>

<p>I was a little disappointed in the Adams prints; they seemed to lack luminosity. The prints were extremely contrasty and ultimately unsatisfying. I expected the tonal range to be much longer and pleasing. Maybe it was the lighting.</p>

<p>Is that normal for Adams' prints? Maybe I should view others in different museums before I come to a conclusion.</p><div></div>

[eddes]

<p>JD</p>

<p>I've seen many Adams that had great luminosity. But also, in a couple of instances, the lighting was too low to really appreciate the piece. Being made of paper, often the lights are kept very low for conservation purposes. That's also why prints are also continuously rotated in and out of display (mostly out).</p>

<p>Edmond</p>

 

[mark_e3]

<p>JD - I went to this exhibit several weeks ago. One thing I noticed was that quite of few of the prints were made later in his life, when (if memory serves me correctly - haven't taken an art course in a decade) Adams experimented more with post processing.The print of Moonrise they had on display was much darker than one I had previously seen. Here's an example:</p>

<p>http://www.iphotocentral.com/andrewsmith/search/detail.php/0/10/AA-1691<br>

http://www.iphotocentral.com/andrewsmith/search/detail.php/0/10/AA-2393</p>

[rossb]

<p>I have not seen but a couple of Adams prints but I was at Yosemite yesterday and went into the Ansel gallery..They sell his prints in there and they look pretty good to me..A lot better then what I came home with for sure..However the prints for $225.00 (8x10) that they are selling are certainly not his original prints. Probably just prints from a scan or something that the store is pumping out. Stilll I would have bought one for $25.00 but not $225.00. Anyway I thought they were beautiful. I think Ansel is famous for many reason including "Ansel the man as well as his work" Everytime I go to Point Lobos (near Carmel) I always think. I bet Ansel stood right here once.</p>

 

[jtk]

<p>Good inkjet prints from AA negs (or scanned from his prints) could be as good or better than his silver prints, IMO. He was deeply involved in scanning and lithographic print control. Plates in his last (more expensive) books looked better than many of his original prints. He would certainly be working digitally today.</p>