What value do we place on a photograph? It certainly depends on many factors balancing the feelings it arouses or the commitment necessary to achieve it. At Sotheby’s, however, they went “beyond” by auctioning a landscape photograph of Ansel Adams and beating it for almost 1 million dollars . A real record, although obviously it is a masterpiece and a unique production for the photographer (who passed away in 1984).

The photograph of Ansel Adams for almost 1 million dollars

The photograph object of the December auction 2020 was The Grand Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming . As you can guess, this is a landscape photograph and takes a scene where the mountain called Grand Tetons stands out in the background while the river (Snake River) shows its luster by breaking up the dark color given by the surrounding vegetation.

As reported, the photograph of Ansel Adams was sold for 988 thousand dollars , even exceeding the prices that were still generous (from 400 thousand to 600 thousand dollars). This is a print on silver gelatin, with double signature of the artist and already framed.

Click on the image to enlarge

This image should have been captured in 1942 and then printed in years ’60. A large series of documents could not be missing to certify its authenticity. The most important of all is the certificate of provenance signed by the children of Ansel Adams , Michael and Jeanne. The size of the print is equal to 98, 7 x 131, 8 cm while the frame is from 136, 5 x 176, 5 cm.

The Grand Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming was commissioned by the United States Department of the Interior, specifically by Harold Ickes (Secretary of the Interior) , and has been exhibited in various exhibitions starting from 1982 while the last dates back to 2016.

Seller was David H. Arrington , head of Arrington Oil & Gas Operating LLC .. Arrington has been passionate about photography in general and in particular that of Ansel Adams for some time, creating one of the largest private collections in existence. The photograph we are talking about in the news, along with others, was present in the hall of the company and the president of the company himself encouraged his employees to have photographs of Adams in their offices.

Several other photographs were sold within the same auction, reaching a total of $ 6.4 million. But no other opera has beaten The Grand Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming and its (almost) million dollars.