Ansel Adams Retrospective At Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston

BOSTON, MASS.

:An extraordinary exhibition of photographs by Ansel Adams, drawn from The Lane Collection of American Modernist Photography, the largest holding of works by the artist still in private hands, will be on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), through December 31. "Ansel Adams" captures Adams's poetic vision through some 180 black and white photographs spanning 50 years of the artist's career, with particular emphasis on his early work - from classic landscapes and views of national parks to intimate still lifes and abstracted, modernist works.

Highlighting many rare and unpublished photographs, the exhibition also reveals a little-known side of Adams' work, including his striking architectural and urban views, portraits of artist friends and photographs of Native American pueblos.

"Ansel Adams" also includes a large-format camera, folding screens and photo albums by Adams, as well as mural-sized reproductions of portraits of Adams by other artists that introduce each section of the exhibition. The works on view have been drawn from the Lane collection, which is currently housed at the MFA, and includes nearly 500 works by Adams purchased directly from the artist by the late William H. Lane and Saundra Lane in the 1960s and 1970s.

"These astoundingly beautiful photographs give a rounded portrait of Ansel Adams the person - as artist, author, teacher and spokesperson for photography," said Malcolm Rogers, Ann and Graham Gund Director of the MFA.

In 1965, the Lanes acquired the entire photographic estate of artist Charles Sheeler following his death - a pivotal moment that prompted them to start collecting photography in earnest at a time when few people appreciated it as art. Two years later, the Lanes began to incorporate Adams's work into the collection. "Bill and I were privileged to be able to work directly with Ansel Adams over the course of nearly a decade to create an extensive and quite personal collection of his photographs," said Saundra Lane. "The MFA exhibition features a very special selection of these photographs."

"Ansel Adams" is arranged chronologically in seven sections: Early Work, Group f/64: Exploring Straight Photography, Yosemite, The American Southwest, Alfred Stieglitz and New York, The National Parks, and Late Work and Screens. Several examples of early and late prints made from the same negative provide an opportunity to explore changes in the relative scale of Adams's work, his choice of photographic papers, and his printing techniques over time.

"Ansel Adams" is accompanied by an illustrated publication, featuring essays by curator Karen Haas, and exhibition research assistant Rebecca Senf. The publication focuses on Adams's pivotal role in the progress of American photography in the Twentieth Century; his defining ex-periences photographing the American Southwest; and includes notes that explore aspects of the collection, including Adams's folding screens, his early photography for the Sierra Club, and his pictures of Hornitos, Calif. The book is available in the MFA bookstore and shop or by visiting www.mfa.org, $65 for the hardcover and $40 for the soft cover.

Admission to Ansel Adams (which includes a return visit to the museum within 10 days) is by ticket only for a reserved date and time of entry at half-hour intervals. Tickets can be purchased by calling 617-542-4MFA or by visiting the MFA's box office or www.mfa.org.