YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif., May 16, 2024 — The U.S. Postal Service highlighted Ansel Adams’ iconic black-and-white photography with a series of stamps celebrating his work. Ansel Adams was a highly esteemed and influential American artist. The stamp dedication ceremony took place at the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite National Park.
“As a masterful photographer and dedicated environmentalist, Ansel Adams allowed Americans from all corners of the nation to experience the country’s wonders in vivid detail,” said Daniel Tangherlini, a USPS Board of Governors member. “There have been many advances in photographic technology in recent decades, but the clarity and character of an Ansel Adams image is timeless and unsurpassed, just like you see on these stamps unveiled here today.”
As an artist, Adams aimed to infuse each of his black-and-white prints with the power and wonder he experienced in nature. As an activist, he used his photographs to influence U.S. environmental policy. His images of the country’s most breathtaking places, such as Yosemite Valley, the Tetons, and Denali, became symbols of the environmental movement.
Ansel Adams received praise and recognition for his photography over a career spanning seven decades. He was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of California, Berkeley, Harvard, and Yale. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Museum of Modern Art held retrospective exhibitions of his work in 1974 and 1979, respectively. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter awarded Adams the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“Ansel’s passion for his craft, his willingness to share his approach and technique, and his dedication to protecting and preserving the environment profoundly influenced how I approached my journey as a photographer,” said renowned black & white photographer Alan Ross. “Seeing Ansel’s artistry and love for natural wonders like Yosemite embodied on U.S. postage stamps is wonderful.”
The first row of stamps, left to right, features “Half Dome, Merced River, Winter, Yosemite National Park, California” (1938); “Oak Tree, Sunset City, Sierra Foothills, California” (1962); “Thundercloud, Ellery Lake, High Sierra, Sierra Nevada, California” (1934); and “Denali and Wonder Lake, Denali National Park, Alaska” (1947).
The second row, left to right, features “The Golden Gate and Bridge from Baker Beach, San Francisco, California” (c.1953); “Road and Fog, Del Monte Forest, Pebble Beach, California” (1964); “Rock and Grass, Moraine Lake, Sequoia National Park, California” (1936); and “Leaves, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington” (c.1942).
The third row, left to right, features “Monument Valley, Arizona” (1958); “Tetons and Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming” (1942); “Jeffrey Pine, Sentinel Dome, Yosemite National Park, California” (1940); and “Mirror Lake, Mount Watkins, Spring, Yosemite National Park, California” (1935).
The fourth row, left to right, features “Maroon Bells, near Aspen, Colorado” (1951); “Aspens, Dawn, Autumn, Dolores River Canyon, Colorado” (1937); “Road After Rain, Northern California” (1960); and “Dunes, Oceano, California” (1963).
Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps using existing photographs.
Source: U.S. Postal Service
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