Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada, from Lone Pine

Silver gelatin, mounted. View of sun-lit, snow capped mountains with smaller shadowy mountains in front. Small hills and grass cover ground with two horses in foreground. Signed, ink (recto: bottom right). Verso: Adams stamp, title handwritten, ink. "RSN 82532R32" handwritten, pencil.

The "natural chiaroscuro" of this scene in the Sierra Nevadas, foothills shaded in clouds and background mountains brightly lit, had Adams lingering outdoors in zero-degree weather waiting for the perfect composition to reveal itself. According to his book "Examples," Adams had the history and ecology of this region in mind when he took "Winter Sunrise." The endangered Mono Lake, which appears in the foreground, had once nurtured a lush and thriving valley, but by 1944, "practically all the water of the area flows to the homes and swimming pools of the City of Angels, and an American tragedy is here for all who care to see," according to Adams ("Examples," p.163). The photographer was equally upset by the letters "LP" which local Lone Pine High School students had painted on the left hill. Adams meticulously spotted out the graffiti in the darkroom before making his first prints, but the letters are still just visible in this print of the negative.

Ansel Adams (1902-1984) is one of the most well-known twentieth century photographers. His contributions to the field of photography include his innovation and teaching of the Zone System. The quality of his photographs set the standard by which many straight photographs are judged.

The collection in the Photographic History Collection consists of twenty-five photographs, all printed in or about 1968. All are gelatin silver, mounted, labeled and signed in ink by the photographer. The photographs include some of his most well-known images, but also portraits and objects. The selection of images was made in collaboration between the collecting curator and Adams.