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Ansel Adams September 15, 2007–January 27, 2008
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ANSEL ADAMS, The Lane Collection WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Corcoran Gallery of Art’s newest special exhibition, Ansel Adams (September 15, 2007 – January 27, 2008), draws from The Lane Collection—the largest holding of works by the artist still in private hands. William H. Lane (1914–1995), a manufacturer in Worcester County, Massachusetts, began collecting 20th-century American paintings in the early 1950s by artists such as Arthur Dove, Charles Sheeler, Georgia O'Keeffe, Stuart Davis, Hans Hofmann and Franz Kline, among others. Lane and his wife, Saundra Baker Lane, began focusing on acquiring American photography during the 1960s. The Lanes developed strong relationships with key American photographers Charles Sheeler, Ansel Adams and Imogen Cunningham, as well as the family of Edward Weston, which resulted in their building broad, archival collections of some of the finest photographic work by these artists. By 1975, the Lanes had formed one of the most significant private collections of American 20th-century photography in the United States. William Lane first met Adams in 1954 through their mutual friend, artist Charles Sheeler, and the two continued to correspond in the years that followed. In 1965 the Lanes acquired the entire photographic estate of Sheeler following his death—a pivotal moment that prompted them to start collecting photography in earnest, at a time when few people appreciated photographs as art. Shortly thereafter, the Lanes began to incorporate Adams’ images into their collection. For the next 10 years they worked directly with Adams—considering a wide range of his photographs, making visits to the artist’s home on the California coast and corresponding through numerous letters—cultivating a very personal collection of his works. The close friendship between the Lanes and Adams (1902—1984) shines through the selection of prints included in Ansel Adams, allowing for a more personal and revealing view of an artist best-known for just a handful of his most iconic photographs. "The back-story of this exhibition is fascinating: how an extraordinary collection of Adams' photographs was built from a friendship. Great collectors like the Lanes are often unheralded but play a great role in helping to define an artist's legacy for future generations," said Paul Roth, curator of photography and media arts at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. The Lane collection is hosted by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, under the supervision of Karen Haas, curator of The Lane Collection and co-curator of Ansel Adams with Rebecca Senf, Assistant Curator of the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona. “The remarkable scope of The Lane Collection has allowed us to take a wonderfully comprehensive approach in presenting a wide range of works by Ansel Adams, shedding new light on his career,” Haas said. “From the breathtaking western landscapes for which he is best known, to lesser-known photographs of urban subjects and Native American pueblos, this exhibition brings forth many facets of Adams’ work.” Ansel Adams was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This exhibition
is sponsored by Fidelity Investments through the Fidelity Foundation.
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Copyright © 2008, Corcoran Gallery of Art |