Monolith: The Face of Half Dome, Yosemite Valley

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Copied Ansel Adams, Monolith: The Face of Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, 1926-1927, printed 1927, gelatin silver print, sheet: 11 7⁄8 x 9 7⁄8 in. (30.2 x 25.1 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1992.101.3

Artwork Details

Title
Monolith: The Face of Half Dome, Yosemite Valley
Artist
Printer
Grabhorn Press
Publisher
Jean Chambers Moore
Date
1926-1927, printed 1927
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 11 7⁄8 x 9 7⁄8 in. (30.2 x 25.1 cm.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums Description
gelatin silver print
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — California — Yosemite Valley
  • Landscape — mountain — Half Dome
  • Landscape — park — Yosemite National Park
  • Landscape — mountain — Sierra Nevada Mountains
  • Landscape — valley
Object Number
1992.101.3
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1992.101.3

Artwork Description

At just over 4,700 feet above the valley, Half Dome is the most iconic rock formation in Yosemite National Park. Adams squeezed the monolith into the frame to emphasize the majesty of its scale and the drama of its cliff. As it thrusts out of the brilliant white snow, Half Dome stands as a symbol of the unspoiled western landscape.
Ansel Adams made his first trip to the Sierra Nevada mountain range when he was fourteen years old, and he returned every year until the end of his life, often for month-long stretches. Throughout his career Adams traveled widely – from Hawaii to Maine – to photograph the most picturesque vistas in America. After his death in 1984, a section of the Sierra Nevada was named the Ansel Adams Wilderness in his honor.


A Democracy of Images: Photographs from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2013