Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Monument, California
c. 1942, printed 1980
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
overall: 39.4 x 49.7 cm (15 1/2 x 19 9/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Virginia B. Adams
Accession Number
1986.3.39
Art Historical Context
Behold the stark, otherworldly beauty of *Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Monument, California*, a gelatin silver print by master photographer Ansel Adams, captured around 1942 and meticulously printed in 1980. This 39.4 x 49.7 cm image freezes the dramatic badlands of Death Valley—rugged eroded hills glowing under harsh light, evoking the raw power of America's desert wilderness. Adams, a pioneer of straight photography and co-founder of the f/64 Group, championed pristine clarity in black-and-white landscapes, often focusing on national parks to celebrate their grandeur. Adams' signa...
About the Artist
Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams, born on February 20, 1902, in San Francisco, California, grew up as the only child of Charles Hitchcock Adams, a businessman and astronomy enthusiast who tutored him at home, and Olive Bray, with whom he had a distant relationship. A hyperactive child prone to illness, Adams struggled in formal schooling and was educated by private tutors and his father until graduating from eighth gr...