
The business, now known as the Ansel Adams Gallery, remains in the family.Īdams’ professional breakthrough followed the publication of his first portfolio, Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras, which included his famous image “Monolith, the Face of Half Dome.” The portfolio was a success, leading to a number of commercial assignments.īetween 19, Adams’ work and reputation developed. Virginia inherited the studio from her artist father on his death in 1935, and the Adamses continued to operate the studio until 1971. In 1928, Ansel Adams married Virginia Best, the daughter of the Best’s Studio proprietor. He developed and sold his early photographs at Best’s Studio in Yosemite Valley. He learned darkroom techniques and read photography magazines, attended camera club meetings, and went to photography and art exhibits.
.jpg)
In 1916, following a trip to Yosemite National Park, he also began experimenting with photography. Dismissed from several schools for bad behavior, he was educated by private tutors and members of his family from the age of 12.Īdams taught himself the piano, which would become his early passion. His broken nose was never properly set, remaining crooked for the rest of his life.Īdams was a hyperactive and sickly child with few friends. Later in life, Adams would condemn that industry for depleting the redwood forests.Īs a young child, Adams was injured in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, when an aftershock threw him into a garden wall. His grandfather founded a prosperous lumber business, which Adams’ father eventually inherited. His family came to California from New England, having migrated from Ireland in the early 1700s. He died in Monterey, California, on April 22, 1984.Īnsel Adams was born in on February 20, 1902, in San Francisco, California. His iconic black-and-white images helped to establish photography among the fine arts. Adams rose to prominence as a photographer of the American West, particularly Yosemite National Park, using his work to promote conservation of wilderness areas.

Ansel Adams was an American photographer best known for his iconic images of the American West, including Yosemite National Park.Īnsel Adams was born on February 20, 1902, in San Francisco, California.
