Sand Bar, Rio Grande, Big Bend National Park, Texas

1947, printed 1980 · Photograph

May one see it?

Not receiving at present

National Gallery of Art

Washington, D.C., United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked: 4 hours ago
In this state since: Aug 19, 2026
Source: The museum's own collection data

On the map Museum page

Particulars

Accession number: 1986.3.52

What it shows

United States Waterway Texas Big Bend National Park Rio Grande

In the catalog

American

Sources

National Gallery of Art: the museum's own open data · fetched 4 days ago
Image: National Gallery of Art — © the artist or rights holder

Meanwhile, in the life of Ansel Adams

The whole life

1945–1946
The first fine-art photography department in the US
Adams is asked to form the first fine-art photography department in the United States at the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute) — in 1945 or 1946. He invites Dorothea Lange, Imogen Cunningham and Edward Weston as guest lecturers and Minor White as principal instructor.
1952
Co-founding the magazine “Aperture”
In 1952 Adams is one of the founders of the magazine “Aperture,” conceived as a serious journal of photography displaying its best practitioners and newest innovations. He also contributes to Arizona Highways, where his article on Mission San Xavier del Bac, with text by his longtime friend Nancy Newhall, grows into a book published in 1954 — the first of their many collaborations.
1955
“The Family of Man”: the largest print
Edward Steichen selects Adams's “Mount Williamson” for the world-touring Museum of Modern Art exhibition “The Family of Man,” which nine million visitors will see. At 10 by 12 feet (3.0 by 3.7 m) it is the largest print in the show, hung floor-to-ceiling, yet Adams himself is displeased with the “gross” enlargement and the “poor” quality of the print.
June 1955
The first annual workshop in Yosemite
In June 1955 Adams begins his annual workshops in Yosemite; they will continue until 1981, attracting thousands of students.
1974
A retrospective at the Met and an exhibition in Arles
In 1974 Adams has a major retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the same year he exhibits at the Rencontres d'Arles, an annual summer photography festival in France.
1979
The first official photographic portrait of a US president
In 1979 President Jimmy Carter commissions Adams to make the first official photographic portrait of a US president. On this occasion Adams gives Carter a letter containing two memoranda: one advocating federal protection for Big Sur, the other arguing for stronger legislation to protect Alaskan wilderness.