It was the United States Department of Interior that commissioned Ansel Adams to document the country's national parks. Though the project was suspended after just one year because of World War II, Adams was still able to create quite a few astonishingly beautiful photographs of the American landscape. Arresting images of Yellowstone's geysers, the Grand Canyon's ravines, Glacier and Grand Teton national parks' mountains and the southwest's ancient adobes fill the book's pages. Perusing this palm-sized volume is akin to touring the country's natural monuments with this most gifted nature photographer along as a companion.
One of the most prolific and highly acclaimed photographers of the twentieth century, Ansel Adams (1902-1984) is the author of more than a dozen books. He helped establish the department of photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art and founded The Friends of Photography in Carmel, California, and the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson. A member of the board of directors of the Sierra Club for thirty-seven years, Adams was instrumental in the growth of the American conservationist movement.
Alice Gray is a writer and editor based in Louisville, Kentucky. Her work has appeared in such publications as Art & Auction and ARTnews.