Ansel Adams at 100

by John Szarkowski

In commemoration of the one-hundredth anniversary of his birth, Ansel Adams at 100 presents an intriguing new look at this distinguished photographer's work. The legendary curator John Szarkowski, director emeritus of the Department of Photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art, has painstakingly selected what he considers Adams' finest work and has attempted to find the single best photographic print of each. Szarkowski writes that "Ansel Adams at 100 is the product of a thorough review of work that Adams, at various times in his career, considered important. It includes many photographs that will be unfamiliar to lovers of Adams' work, and a substantial number that will be new to Adams scholars. The book is an attempt to identify that work on which Adams' claim as an important modern artist must rest." Ansel Adams at 100-the highly acclaimed international exhibition and the book, with Szarkowski's incisive critical essay-is the first serious effort since Adams' death in 1984 to reevaluate his achievement as an artist. The exhibition prints, drawn from important public and private collections, have been meticulously reproduced in tritone to create the splendid plates in this edition, faithfully rendering the nuances of the original prints. Ansel Adams at 100 is destined to be the definitive book on this great American artist. John Szarkowski is director emeritus of the Department of Photography, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. He is the author of such classic works as Looking at Photographs, The Photographer's Eye, Photography Until Now, and Atget, as well as several books of his own photographs, including the recently reissued The Idea of Louis Sullivan.

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction, Art and Photography, Nature, American

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2001

About the author

John Szarkowski was an American photographer and curator best known for his role as the director of the Museum of Modern Art’s Photography Department from 1962 through 1991. “Photography is the easiest thing in the world if one is willing to accept pictures that are flaccid, limp, bland, banal, indiscriminately informative, and pointless,” he once explained. “But if one insists in a photograph that is both complex and vigorous it is almost impossible.”

Born Thaddeus John Szarkowski on December 18, 1925 in Ashland, WI, he went on receive a degree in art history from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1948. After working as a museum photographer at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, he moved to Buffalo to teach photography. The artist then relocated to Chicago, where he worked on his photobook The Idea of Louis Sullivan (1956). After his appointment at MoMA in 1962, Szkarowski would help launch the careers of Diane Arbus, Lee Friedlander, and William Eggleston, among several others during his tenure. He also published acclaimed books on the history of photography, including The Photographer’s Eye (1966) and Looking at Photographs: 100 Pictures from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art (1973).

After retiring from the museum in 1991, Szarkowski resumed his own career in photography. He died on July 7, 2007 in Pittsfield, MA. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, among others.

Reviews

[Steve Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

The photos are gorgeous, of course, ranging from some of Adams' earlier work in 1920 to late work from the 1960s. The prints are the reason to own the book, of course, but I also enjoyed the 50 pages or so of bio and critical commentary, and after reading them I feel like I understand Ansel Adams much better as a person, and can better appreciate the context of his work.

The comments on his evolving style were interesting. Personally, in the cases where direct comparisons are made, I prefer the (melo)drama and "bombast" of the later prints better than the flatter "lyrical precision" of earlier prints. But then again, I'm not an art critic, and am only judging for an audience of one.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adams' incredible images are still some of the best ever taken. His ability to flawlessly compose, expose and produce compelling images is an inspiration.

[Petri · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1922 art photographer Edward Weston wrote that nature photography could not be considered as because nature, “unadulterated and unimproved by man, is simply chaos”. Ansel Adams proved him wrong by framing art into nature. A must have book for mountain and tree photographers.

[Dr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty

[Barb Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true artist with a camera...fabulous black and whites!

[Kristin]

I love his art!!!

[Lesley Looper · Rating 5 out of 5]

It appears that I can't look through an Ansel Adams book without wanting to visit Yosemite or return to Yellowstone!

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

awe-some.