For fans of Ansel

[Allen in Montreal]

"Ansel Adams: The Mural Project 1941-1942

March 10, 2010

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today unveiled an exhibit within the corridors of the Department of the Interior of 26 never-before installed murals taken by famed photographer and conservationist Ansel Adams. The images, part of Ansel Adams: The Mural Project 1941-1942, have been installed on the first and second floors of the Department as originally envisioned by the artist and then-Secretary of the Interior, Harold Ickes........."



http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/03/ansel-adams-in-the-corridors-of-power.html



http://doi.gov/news/photos/Ansel-Adams-Mural-Project-Opens-at-Interior-Department.cfm

[Robert Hughes]

"Adams was paid $22 per day to work on the project, and he only charged the government for the days when he actually shot. "

Typical pro photog - taking unfair advantage of every opportunity. :)

[Mark Sampson]

And then the client stuffed the prints in a closet for 68 years. Bureaucrats!

[Robert Hughes]

Have these been shown before? Is this old hat to all of you?

Or are these a couple dozen undiscovered classics, just waiting to take their place in the art history books?

Or are they just OK, mere snapshots that happened to be done by a famous guy?

[rdenney]

They probably aren't being shown now. You have to have either the right sort of ID or an escort to get into a government building in DC these days.

I doubt my DOT ID would work, and the temporary ID they have given me won't even work in other DOT buildings.

Rick "who used to be able to just wander into government office buildings" Denney

[Merg Ross]

Have these been shown before? Is this old hat to all of you?

Or are these a couple dozen undiscovered classics, just waiting to take their place in the art history books?

Or are they just OK, mere snapshots that happened to be done by a famous guy?


I have not seen this particular group of Ansel's mural prints. However, as a youngster in the 1950's, I often visited the local bank where his 6' x 9' mural prints were on the walls. They were scenes of California done for the American Trust Company (now Wells Fargo Bank). They were sepia toned and attached to the wall like wallpaper, as I recall. I will take a look next time I'm in Berkeley, they may have been preserved.

http://www.andrewsmithgallery.com/exhibitions/anseladamsmonumental/anseladams.htm

[rdenney]

Have these been shown before? Is this old hat to all of you?

Or are these a couple dozen undiscovered classics, just waiting to take their place in the art history books?

Or are they just OK, mere snapshots that happened to be done by a famous guy?


All the Mural Project negatives were demanded by the government upon completion of the project, and Adams supplied them with copy negatives. These can be borrowed under controlled circumstances as a result of a Freedom of Information Request. So, the images have all been seen--I have at least one book that has the Mural Project images in it--but not all the mural-sized prints made by Adams himself. So, there won't be any newly revealed brilliance, but for those lucky enough to seem them, a lot of classic technique perhaps not before seen.

Rick "who might try his hand at seeing them" Denney

[Pete Roody]

Does anyone know what camera Ansel used for these? The 6'x9' format must have come from a pretty large negative.

[Robert Hughes]

The 6'x9' format must have come from a pretty large negative.
That's quite a contact print! How many mules did it take AA to get up the side of the mountain with that camera? :confused:

[Merg Ross]

Does anyone know what camera Ansel used for these? The 6'x9' format must have come from a pretty large negative.

Most likely from an 8x10 negative. The prints were made at the Moulin Studio lab in San Francisco. I believe Moulin is still in business. They were big in portraiture and advertising work for many decades.

For clarification, I am referring to the murals in the Berkeley bank, not those that are the subject of the original post.

[Brian Ellis]

I also saw this murals and was really amazed with how it looks.

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[benrains]

There's an NPR story on this as well, with some of the images--
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125228486&sc=fb&cc=fp