Ansel Adams and the Creation of the National Parks
Ansel Adams. Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite National Park, California. MoCP collection, gift of Arnold and Temmie Gilbert.
The PBS series The National Parks: America??s Best Idea features Ansel Adams as a key artistic influence of the creation of the national parks. The countless captivating images of the American landscape published in his book Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail influenced President Franklin Roosevelt??s decision to designate Kings Canyon in California as a roadless and purposefully undeveloped national park. As the PBS site notes, because of Roosevelt??s handicap his ??only access to the splendor of Kings Canyon would be through Adams' photography.? Adams??s relationship with Harold Ickes, the then Secretary of the Interior, led to an eventual employment contract with the Department of the Interior. His eight-year stint with the department took Adams to nearly every national park, which he photographed for ??prominent display in Washington.? Adams??s work with the national parks is a great example of photography??s (and art??s!) international influence and its effect on the ways we see and experience the world.
Visit the PBS ??The National Parks: America??s Best Idea? site to see an Ansel Adams video excerpt from the series.
View the Ansel Adams images from the MoCP collection database.