Ansel Adams and the American West Photographs from the Center for Creative Photography

34 photographs by Ansel Adams will be presented by Christie’s in the upcoming timed auction, sold in association with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Leading the lots is a 1944 photograph titled Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada, from Lone Pine, California. This photo was taken near Manzanar, the site of a major internment camp that held Japanese Americans during World War II. Adams spent four days searching for the perfect sunrise over the Sierra Nevada mountain range before capturing this photo. He described the scene as “…a bright, glistening sunrise with light clouds streaming from the southeast and casting swift moving shadows on the meadow and the dark rolling hills.” 

Other photos from the Sierra Nevada region will be available as well, including Rocks and Clouds, Sierra Nevada Foothills, California, taken in 1938. A large boulder is positioned at the front of the frame with snow-covered mountains in the background. Beyond Adams’ signature sweeping landscapes, this auction also includes detailed prints of rock formations, plants, and crashing waves. Sumac, Owens Valley shows branching sumac leaves in partial shadow, while Rushing Water, Merced River, Yosemite National Park, California captures a fallen tree submerged in a river. Browse the full catalog and register to bid on Christie’s.