Four Images Added to Ansel Adams Archival Replicas

Oct. 15, 2009 - PRLog -- Yosemite National Park, CALIF. – Four black and white photographs made by Ansel Adams between 1923 and 1948 have been added to The Ansel Adams Gallery’s collection of Ansel Adams Archival Replicas.  The new images include “Banner Peak, Thousand Island Lake” made by Adams in 1923, “Frozen Lake and Cliffs (1935), “Leaves, Mt. Rainier” (1942) and “Vernal Fall” (1948).  

Matthew Adams, grandson of the artist, described his family’s enthusiasm about making these images available as Archival Replica, “Banner Peak, Thousand Island Lake was rarely printed after the Parmelian Print portfolio of 1927. With the Archival Replica program, we have been able to produce it to a 20x24 size that looks fantastic.  The image of Leaves, Mt. Rainier is very soothing.  A 40x50” mural of this image is in our family collection. The 30x40” Archival Replica we are offering is true, in terms of hue, tone, and sharpness, to Ansel Adams’ original.  Vernal Falls is a favorite Yosemite image for many park visitors, as it expresses nature’s power and perfection as experienced in Yosemite National Park.  

“The photograph of Frozen Lake and Cliffs was a difficult one to reproduce from the standpoint that Ansel printed it very differently over time.” Matthew Adams continued, “We had to choose which example would make the best representation of the image: a vintage piece, a beautifully toned mural, a 1960s print with all of the detail in foreground, or a late print with lots of drama and power. In the end, we opted for the 1960s.  It has the contrast and toning with which people are familiar, but retains detail in the foreground.  In his later years, Ansel printed the foreground completely black. The beauty of the Archival Replica program is that the technology enables us, over time, to make available Ansel’s different interpretations of the negative.”

Ansel Adams Archival Replicas are digital reproductions of photographic prints made by Ansel Adams.  “The imaging process used is coupled with digital printers that use 12 inks, including four shades of gray to give the Archival Replicas the full range of tone and hue of gelatin silver prints,” said Matthew Adams, “We believe these to be the best large-format reproductions of Ansel’s work yet made.”

The Archival Replica program draws from the combined collections of the Adams family and the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, where Ansel Adams’ archive resides.  The new images increase the number of Archival Replicas available to 12.  Included are photographs Ansel Adams created between 1930 and 1955 of Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, Canyon de Chelly, Glacier Bay, Point Sur and the Marin Headlands.  

Matthew Adams said, “The value of the Archival Replica program to the greater community is that we can bring forward very fine reproductions of a wider body of Ansel’s work, images that are perhaps less well known or appreciated. Most of these images have rarely been reproduced other than in books, and without this program, could not be produced at so affordable a price.”

Ansel Adams Archival Replicas range in size from 7 by 9” to 30 by 38” and cost from $79 to $999, depending upon size, mounting, matting and framing.  Ansel Adams Archival Replicas can be viewed in Yosemite Valley at The Ansel Adams Gallery and online at www.anseladams.com.

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Media Contacts:
Matthew Adams, The Ansel Adams Gallery, 650-692-3495
John Poimiroo, Poimiroo & Partners, 916-933-8860

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About The Ansel Adams Gallery: The Ansel Adams Gallery has been owned and operated by the Ansel Adams family since its founding as a painter's studio in 1902. Located in Yosemite Village beside the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center, The Ansel Adams Gallery displays the work of Ansel Adams and those of select contemporary landscape photographers. The Gallery has also been a leader in photographic education since 1940, when Ansel began teaching workshops in Yosemite. Over the years the The Ansel Adams Gallery workshop program has evolved to meet current time requirements and technological needs, and the Gallery has classes ranging from 1 to 6 days covering a wide range of topics and locations. www.anseladams.com