The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
Merced River, Cliffs of Cathedral Rocks, from Yosemite Valley Portfolio III
1939
(American, 1902–1984)
Image: 28.5 x 23 cm (11 1/4 x 9 1/16 in.); Mounted: 35.7 x 45.8 cm (14 1/16 x 18 1/16 in.); Paper: 28.5 x 23 cm (11 1/4 x 9 1/16 in.)
Gift of Frances P. Taft 2014.418
© Trustees of the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
Location: not on view
Description
In 1932 a group of artists on the West Coast formed Group f/64, which advocated a modernist style of straight (unmanipulated) photography characterized by sharp focus, detail, and texture, as well as an emphasis on compositional structure. The group included four photographers in this exhibition: Imogen Cunningham, Dorothea Lange, Edward Weston, and Ansel Adams. Impassioned and inspired by natural beauty, Adams was a staunch activist through his words, deeds, and photographs for the preservation of wilderness. He photographed in Yosemite National Park every year starting in 1916. This shot of Merced River, he recalled, “was made in late autumn, on a chilly morning when the air was crystal clear and the silence impressive.”- From Riches to Rags: American Photography in the Depression. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 13-December 31, 2017).
- {{cite web|title=Merced River, Cliffs of Cathedral Rocks, from Yosemite Valley Portfolio III|url=false|author=Ansel Adams|year=1939|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2014.418