"Winter Forest Detail"

(Pine Forest in Snow)

gelatin silver print mounted on cardboard

signed "Ansel Adams" (pencil) on mount recto, portfoliostamp and titled on verso

Ansel Adams began the Yosemite Special Edition Photograph series in 1958 to offer beautiful works of art as an affordable alternative to original photographs. Signed photographs of the series were printed by Ansel Adams' studio assistants during the years between 1958 and 1972 from his original negatives. Each of these 8x10 inch matted prints bear Ansel Adams' signature and are documented with a special stamp on the back of the mount that reads "SPECIAL EDITION OF FINE PRINTS".
Of all the American landscapes that Ansel Adams immortalized through his images, Yosemite was the most deeply personal. In Yosemite he discovered his spiritual home and built his family. He first visited the Park in 1916 and he returned every year thereafter, meeting his wife there and then raising his family within Yosemite's splendor. Ansel hoped his images would inspire park visitors to become activists for Yosemite's preservation, instilled with a deeper connection to the natural world and desire to protect it. With that as his main goal, Ansel conceived this series of Yosemite Special Edition Photographs in the late 1950s. With images of Half Dome, Lake Tenaya, Merced River and more, he invited everyone to be of part of his "art as activism" by pricing the prints at an affordable cost. Today, with America’s wild spaces increasingly under threat, Ansel’s vision for the Special Edition Photographs remains as relevant as ever.
(Ansel Adams Gallery)