Unseen Ansel Adams

During his prolific 60-year career, the godfather of American photography captured iconic images for the Sierra Club and National Park Service, wrote best-selling books, campaigned for the environment, and even took President Jimmy Carter’s official White House portrait. Even so, these make up only a portion of Ansel Adams’s portfolio. These rare photographs in The Unseen Ansel Adams come from the celebrated collection of the University of California. During the 1960s, Adams spent time chronicling the university’s campuses, including images of Berkeley’s majestic campanile, Santa Cruz’s ferny forests, Santa Barbara’s pristine coastline, and UCLA’s stern chancellor. Photography aficionados will certainly appreciate this fresh look at a master’s lesser-known work. Spreads feature beautiful black-and-white photographs that are rich in detail and texture, showcasing Adams’s unmistakable style. Though best known for his photographs of nature, Ansel Adams saw beauty in many forms, including many man-made structures like the modern architecture of UCSD and aerial shots of Los Angeles’s famous freeways. An avid environmentalist, Adams spent his career documenting the wonders of the natural world. See regal eucalyptus groves, sculptural cacti, rocky valleys, and lacy fungus through Adams’s eyes in remarkable photographs he took while on a tour of California. Adams continues to influence contemporary photographers, while enthusiasm for his work keeps growing.