Signed Ansel Adams Lithographs

[Rick Olson]

Hello Friends,

I received a call from my mom today and she said my aunt wants to give me 5-6 actual hand-signed Ansel Adams lithographs that she has had with her for some time. They are sized around 11" x 16" each and consist of some of his various images. What might the value of these be? If it is high, I want to make arrangements for proper security and storage/preservation for them. I would appreciate any recommendations!

What a treat this will be!

Thanks,
Rick

[Andrew_4548]

Rick, I can't help on estimating the value of the pictures but a couple of wild guesses as to where to check...

Auction houses - has anything like this come up before and for how much did they sell?
Galleries with AA stuff
Publisher (Little Brown?)
I think there's someone still creating prints from Ansel's negs but I can't remember their name - there was something in View Camera a bit ago about them...

Without being cynical, do you have to watch out for someone putting a low value on them to buy them cheap off you to sell at great profit. I get the impression you're not looking to sell but you never know if the price is right...

[Bill_1856]

By "Lithographs" you probably mean signed posters. Unlike his photographic prints, you aren't really talking big bucks here, check with the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite.

[Brian Ellis]

Adams didn't make lithographs. Your aunt may have posters though 11x16 sounds small for a poster, or she may have the special editions sold in bulk by the Adams gallery in Yosemite though I didn't think he signed those. So it isn't clear (to me at least) exactly what your aunt has and obviously finding that out is the first step to determining what they might be worth. In addition to contacting the Adams gallery as Bill suggested you might also talk to a reputable dealer in classic photographs such as the Weston gallery in Carmel or to an auction house that sells photographs such as Sotheby's to find out exactly what you have and how much it might be worth.

[Merg Ross]

Target sells framed Adams lithographs for $100 to $200, I believe. Although, probably not signed.

[Jerry Flynn]

Alan Ross still makes the Special Edition prints that are sold through the Ansel Adams Gallery. Last time I checked, they were selling for about $175. When he was alive, Adams intialed them A.A. He signed some of the earlier versions, although they are clearly identified as Special Edition.

These are prints made from the original negatives by various assitants over the years and are not lithographs.