Ansel Adams 1902-1984

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Ansel Adams. The acclaimed nature photographer, born in San Francisco in 1902, died on 22 April 1984. Adams was active during WWII and some of his work is featured in our current special exhibit, From Barbed Wire to Battlefields: Japanese American Experiences in WWII.

Birds on wire, evening, Manzanar Relocation Center by Ansel Adams. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

During the fall of 1943, Ansel Adams shot over 200 images in Manzanar Relocation Center. Many of these images were published in 1944 in the book Born Free and Equal. The images are all courtesy of the Library of Congress and the entire series can be viewed here in their online catalog. When Adams offered his Manzanar series to the Library of Congress in 1965, he commented on the collection of images  in a letter: “The purpose of my work was to show how these people, suffering under a great injustice, and loss of property, businesses and professions, had overcome the sense of defeat and dispair [sic] by building for themselves a vital community in an arid (but magnificent) environment….All in all, I think this Manzanar Collection is an important historical document, and I trust it can be put to good use.”

Post by Curator Kimberly Guise.