Natural Causes:
Ansel Adams & American Landscape Photography
7 March - 21 June 1998  National Gallery of Australia

Ansel Adams Mt. Williamson, Sierra Nevada, from Manzanar, California 1944  Reproduced courtesy of the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust, California, 1997

Ansel Adams (1902-1984) is one of the most celebrated and influential 20th century landscape photographers. The exhibition title reflects the place of Adams's work in a tradition of brilliant American photographers of the sublime natural landscape and Adams's role as an ardent conservationist.

In 1981 the National Gallery of Australia was one of a select group of world museums which were successful in their applications to purchase Adams's `Museum set' of 75 images spanning his career from 1927 to the 1970s . The selection and production of this portfolio occupied the last decade of Adams's life.

Ansel Adams  Maroon Bells, Near Aspen, Colorado  1951  Reproduced courtesy of the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust, California, 1997

The Museum set has formed the basis of two previous National Gallery exhibitions. The 1998 exhibition includes over 30 images
by Ansel Adams from over 100 works in the Gallery's collection. The exhibition is being mounted in association with New Worlds from Old: 19th Century Australian & American Landscapes. A small selection of works by other 19th and 20th century American landscape photographers in the National Gallery's collection will also be included in the current Adams exhibition.