About this artwork
Ansel Adams was internationally known for his majestic depictions of the American West, made with a clarity and sharpness that embraced the photographic spectrum from darkest black to brightest white. Calling Adams “the one unshakable center in photography,” Hugh Edwards greatly admired his work and acquired nearly 60 of his photographs for the museum. This much more intimate image implies parallels between photography and painting, as the men in a passionate “discussion in art” mirror the forms of the Renaissance painting behind them. This print was a gift to the museum from Katherine Kuh—who had given Adams a one-man show at her Chicago gallery before becoming a curator at the Art Institute—the year that Edwards was named curator of photography.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Photography and Media
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Artist
- Ansel Adams
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Title
- Discussion in Art, San Francisco
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Place
- United States (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- Made 1936
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Medium
- Gelatin silver print
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Inscriptions
- Signed recto, on mount, lower right, below image, in graphite: "Ansel Adams"; printed and typed verso, on sticker affixed to mount, upper center, in black ink: "A ZEISS-CONTAX / PHOTOGRAPH / BY / ANSEL ADAMS / SAN FRANCISCO [printed] / 2. Discussion in Art [typed]"
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Dimensions
- Image/paper: 16.1 × 21.8 cm (6 3/8 × 8 5/8 in.); Mount: 35.3 × 45.7 cm (13 15/16 × 18 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of Mrs. Katharine Kuh
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Reference Number
- 1959.874
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Copyright
- © The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
