Editing Ansel Adams (section)

===1940s===
[[File:Ansel Adams - Personnel File Photograph - NARA.jpg|thumb|Adams {{circa|1941}}<ref>{{cite archive | last = U.S. Civil Service Commission. | item = Adams, Ansel File for 23 Alphabetical Park Service | item-url = https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7582611 | item-id = 7582611 | date = November 3, 1941 | fonds =  | series = Official Personnel File of Ansel E. Adams, October 6, 1941 – October 12, 1943 | file =  | box =  | collection = Record Group 146: Records of the U.S. Civil Service Commission, 1871–2001 | collection-url = https://catalog.archives.gov/id/475 | repository =  | institution = National Archives at College Park | accession =}}</ref>|alt=]]

In 1940, Adams created ''A Pageant of Photography'', the largest and most important photography show in the West to date, attended by millions of visitors.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 159}} With his wife, Adams completed a children's book and the very successful ''Illustrated Guide to Yosemite Valley'' during 1940 and 1941. He also taught photography by giving workshops in Detroit. Adams also began his first serious stint of teaching, which included the training of military photographers, in 1941 at the Art Center School of Los Angeles, now known as the [[Art Center College of Design]].{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 312}}

====Mural Project====
In 1941, Adams contracted with the [[National Park Service]] to make photographs of National Parks, Indian reservations, and other locations managed by the department, for use as mural-sized prints to decorate the department's new building.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 15, 2016|title=Ansel Adams Photographs|url=https://www.archives.gov/research/ansel-adams|access-date=June 15, 2020|website=National Archives|language=en|archive-date=November 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113025711/https://www.archives.gov/research/ansel-adams|url-status=live}}</ref> The contract was for 180 days. Adams set off on a road trip with his friend Cedric and his son Michael, intending to combine work on the "Mural Project" with commissions for the U.S. Potash Company and Standard Oil, with some days reserved for personal work.{{sfn|Alinder|1996|loc=Chapter 13}}
{{-}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-T02.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-J02.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-E09.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AAB-02.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-P05.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-M17.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-H03.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-G03.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-Q04.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-N04.jpg
Photograph of Old Faithful Geyser Erupting in Yellowstone National Park - NARA - 519994.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-W15.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-Q01 restored.jpg
</gallery>

====''Moonrise''====
[[File:Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico.jpg|thumb|''[[Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico]]'' (1941)]]
While in New Mexico for the project, Adams photographed a scene of the Moon rising above a modest village with snow-covered mountains in the background, under a dominating black sky. The photograph is one of his most famous and is named ''[[Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico]]''. Adams's description in his later books of how it was made probably enhanced the photograph's fame: the light on the crosses in the foreground was rapidly fading, and he could not find his exposure meter; however, he remembered the [[luminance]] of the Moon and used it to calculate the proper exposure.<ref>{{cite book | last = Adams | first = Ansel | title = The Negative | publisher = Little Brown | location = Boston | year = 1981 | isbn = 978-0-8212-1131-1 | page = [https://archive.org/details/negative00adam/page/127 127]}}</ref>{{sfn|Adams|Alinder|1985|pp=40–43, 273–275}}{{NoteTag|Adams's first account in ''U.S. Camera 1943 annual'' was less dramatic, saying simply that the photograph was made after sunset, with exposure determined using his Weston Master meter,<ref>{{cite book | first = T.J. | last = Maloney | title = U.S. Camera 1943 ''annual'' | year = 1942 | publisher = Duell, Sloan & Pearce | location = New York | pages = 88–89}}</ref> though {{Harvnb|Alinder|1996|p=192}}, states that the image caption for ''Moonrise'' in ''U.S. Camera 1943'' was inaccurate, citing several discrepancies among technical details.}} In the resulting negative the foreground was underexposed, the highlights in the clouds were quite dense, and the negative proved difficult to print.{{sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985|p = 42}} The initial publication of ''Moonrise'' was in ''U.S. Camera 1943'' annual, after being selected by the "photo judge" for ''U.S. Camera'', [[Edward Steichen]].{{sfn|Alinder|1996|p = 192}} This gave ''Moonrise'' an audience before its first formal exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1944.<ref>See master checklist (Pdf) for {{cite web|publisher=The Museum of Modern Art |date=2024 |title=''Art in Progress: 15th Anniversary Exhibitions: Photography,'' May 24–Sep 17, 1944 |access-date=2024-09-20 |url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/3386?}}</ref>{{sfn|Alinder|1996|p=193}}

Over nearly 40 years, Adams re-interpreted the image, his most popular by far,{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 275}} using the latest darkroom equipment at his disposal, making over 1,369 unique prints, mostly in 16" by 20" format.<ref>{{cite web | author = Andrew Smith Gallery | publisher = Andrew Smith Gallery | url = http://www.andrewsmithgallery.com/exhibitions/anseladams/arrington/ | title = 5 prints of "Moonrise", 1941–1975 | access-date = November 9, 2010 | archive-date = July 7, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110707143556/http://www.andrewsmithgallery.com/exhibitions/anseladams/arrington/ | url-status = live }}</ref> Many of the prints were made during the 1970s, with their sale finally giving Adams financial independence from commercial projects. The total value of these original prints exceeds $25,000,000;{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| pp = 189–199}} the highest price paid for a single print of ''Moonrise'' reached $609,600 at a 2006 Sotheby's auction in New York.<ref>{{cite news | title = Art Market Watch – artnet Magazine | url = http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/artmarketwatch/artmarketwatch10-27-06.asp | access-date = March 4, 2019 | work = artnet.com | date = October 27, 2006 | archive-date = July 30, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180730140403/http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/artmarketwatch/artmarketwatch10-27-06.asp | url-status = live }}</ref>

The Mural Project ended on June 30, 1942; and because of the World War, the murals were never created. Adams sent a total of 225 small prints to the DOI, but held on to the 229 negatives. These include many famous images such as ''[[The Tetons and the Snake River]]''. Although they were legally the property of the U.S. Government, he knew that the National Archives did not take proper care of photographic material, and used various subterfuges to evade queries.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996|loc=Chapter 13}}

The ownership of one image in particular has attracted interest: ''Moonrise''. Although Adams kept meticulous records of his travel and expenses,<ref>{{cite book | first1 = Peter | last1 = Wright | last2 = Armor | first2 = John | title = The Mural Project | publisher = Reverie Press | location = Santa Barbara | year = 1988 | isbn = 978-1-55824-162-6 | page = vi | url = https://archive.org/details/muralproject0000adam }}</ref> he was less disciplined about recording the dates of his images, and he neglected to note the date of ''Moonrise''. But the position of the Moon allowed the image to be eventually dated from astronomical calculations, and in 1991 Dennis di&nbsp;Cicco of ''[[Sky & Telescope]]'' determined that ''Moonrise'' was made on November 1, 1941.{{NoteTag|David Elmore of the High Altitude Observatory in Boulder, Colorado, had determined that ''Moonrise'' was taken on October 31, 1941, at 4:03&nbsp;pm.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Callahan | first = Sean | year = 1981 | issue = January 1981 | title = Short Takes: Countdown to Moonrise | journal = American Photographer | pages = 30–31}}</ref> Di&nbsp;Cicco noticed that the Moon's position at the time Elmore made his determination did not match the Moon's position in the image, and after an independent analysis, determined the time to be 4:49:20&nbsp;pm on November 1, 1941. He reviewed his results with Elmore, who agreed with di&nbsp;Cicco's conclusions.<ref>{{cite journal | last = di Cicco | first = Dennis | year = 1991 | title = Dating Ansel Adams' Moonrise | journal = Sky & Telescope | volume = 82 | issue = November 1991 | bibcode = 1991S&T....82..529D | pages = 529–533}}</ref>}} Since this was a day for which he had not billed the department, the image belonged to Adams.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 201}}

====World War II====
[[File:Ansel Adams - Farm workers and Mt. Williamson.jpg|thumb|''Farm, farm workers, [[Mount Williamson|Mt. Williamson]] in background, Manzanar Relocation Center, California'' (1943)<ref>{{cite web | last = Adams | first = Ansel | title = Farm, farm workers, Mt. Williamson in background, Manzanar Relocation Center, California | url = http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/manz/item/2002695990/ | website = Ansel Adams's Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar | publisher = Library of Congress | access-date = February 28, 2019 | year = 1943 | archive-date = September 11, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180911192333/http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/manz/item/2002695990/ | url-status = live }}</ref>|alt=A black-and-white photograph shows farm workers with Mt. Williamson in background.]]
[[File:Baton-practice-Manzanar-Adams.jpeg|thumb|''Baton practice, Florence Kuwata, [[Manzanar War Relocation Center|Manzanar Relocation Center]]'' (1943)<ref>{{cite archive | last = U.S. Civil Service Commission. | item = Baton practice, Florence Kuwata, Manzanar Relocation Center | item-url = http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001704608/ | item-id = LC-A35-5-M-34 | year = 1943 | fonds =  | file =  | box =  | collection = Ansel Adams's Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar | collection-url = http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/manz/ | repository =  | institution = Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division | accession =}}</ref>|alt=A black-and-white photography shows a smiling woman from below twirling batons with the sun behind her.]]

When Edward Steichen formed his [[Naval Aviation Photographic Unit]] in early 1942, he wanted Adams to be a member, to build and direct a state-of-the-art darkroom and laboratory in Washington, D.C.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 172}} Around February 1942, Steichen asked Adams to join him in the navy.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 172}} Adams agreed, but with two conditions: He wanted to be commissioned as an officer, and he would not be available until July 1.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 173}} Steichen, who wanted the team assembled as quickly as possible, passed on Adams and had his other photographers ready by early April.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 173}}

Adams was distressed by the [[Japanese American internment]] that occurred after the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]] attack. He requested permission to visit the Manzanar War Relocation Center in the [[Owens Valley]], at the base of [[Mount Williamson]]. The resulting photo-essay first appeared in a Museum of Modern Art exhibit, and later was published as ''[[Born Free and Equal]]: The Story of Loyal Japanese-Americans''. Upon its release, "[the book] was met with some distressing resistance and was rejected by many as disloyal."{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 263}} This work was a significant departure, stylistically and philosophically, from the work for which Adams is generally known.{{Sfn | O'Toole|2010|p = 24}} He also contributed to the war effort by doing many photographic assignments for the military, including making prints of secret Japanese installations in the Aleutians.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996|p = 175}}

In 1943, Adams had a camera platform mounted on his station wagon, to afford him a better vantage point over the immediate foreground and a better angle for expansive backgrounds. Most of his landscapes from that time forward were made from the roof of his car rather than from summits reached by rugged hiking, as in his earlier days.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 239}}

Adams was the recipient of three [[Guggenheim Fellowship]]s during his career, the first being awarded in 1946 to photograph every national park.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 217}} At that time, there were 28 national parks, and Adams photographed 27 of them, missing only [[Everglades National Park]] in Florida. This series of photographs produced memorable images of [[Old Faithful]] Geyser, [[Grand Teton]], and [[Mount McKinley]].

In 1945, Adams was asked to form the first fine art photography department at the [[San Francisco Art Institute|California School of Fine Arts]]. Adams invited [[Dorothea Lange]], Imogen Cunningham, and Edward Weston to be guest lecturers, and [[Minor White]] to be the principal instructor.<ref>{{cite web | last = Mix | first = Robert | url = http://www.verlang.com/sfbay0004ref_timeline_05.html | title = SF Bay Area Timeline: Modernism (1930–1960) | publisher = Vernacular Language North | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120524094806/http://www.verlang.com/sfbay0004ref_timeline_05.html | archive-date = May 24, 2012 | access-date = November 7, 2008 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = SFAI History | url = https://www.sfai.edu/about-sfai/sfai-history | publisher = San Francisco Art Institute | access-date = March 5, 2019 | archive-date = March 5, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190305213609/https://sfai.edu/about-sfai/sfai-history | url-status = live }}</ref> The photography department produced numerous notable photographers, including [[Philip Hyde (photographer)|Philip Hyde]], [[Benjamen Chinn]], and [[William Heick|Bill Heick]].<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Comer | first1 = Stephanie | last2 = Klochko | first2 = Deborah | last3 = Gunderson | first3 = Jeff | title = The moment of seeing : Minor White at the California School of Fine Arts | date = 2006 | publisher = Chronicle Books | isbn = 978-0-8118-5468-9 | page = 202}}</ref>