Cantor Arts Center

Surf Sequence by Ansel Adams

Though each photograph can be shown separately, a group of five displayed together has the greatest effect. Surf Sequence is one of my most successful photographic expressions.
—Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams (U.S.A., 1902–1984) possessed an affinity for photographing water in its varied physical states and natural forms. Particularly in images of California, he skillfully framed compositions around the dramatic reflections, elegant lines, and organic patterns he found in still lakes, churning ocean tides, precipitation, and rivers of fog. Outstanding in this body of work is his five-part Surf Sequence from 1940. In this focused study of waves rolling into the San Mateo County coastline, Adams deployed his still camera as a modern tool for observing nature in motion and across time.

Adams encountered the Surf Sequence site while driving up the California coast on the famously picturesque Highway 1. He had been visiting photographer Edward Weston (U.S.A., 1886–1958) in Point Lobos with the New York photography curators Nancy and Beaumont Newhall (U.S.A., 1908–1974; U.S.A., 1908–1993). Inspired by Weston, the company, and the spectacular landscape, the group paused often to make photographs. Struck by the quality of the light at a cliff, Adams pulled over and captured the spectacle unfolding at its own cadence immediately below him.

The engagement with line, motion, and time inherent in Surf Sequence is echoed here in the pair of Adams photographs from the 1920s. These depict skiers carving fluid lines into fresh snow on Mt. Watkins, named for photographer Carleton Watkins (U.S.A., 1829–1916), who, in the 1860s, created some of the earliest and most significant images of Yosemite Valley.

Adams’s Surf Sequence is one of the many stories about twentieth-century American photography that can be told through The Capital Group Foundation Photography Collection at Stanford University, a 2019 gift to the Cantor Arts Center.

Elizabeth Kathleen Mitchell, PhD, Burton and Deedee McMurtry Curator, and Director of the Curatorial Fellowship Program

This exhibition is organized by the Cantor Arts Center. We gratefully acknowledge support from the Kazak Acquisitions and Exhibitions Fund.

Showing 1 to 8 of 8 Records

Ansel Adams

Arnold Newman
Gelatin silver print
20th C. USA
1984.281

Image of Skiing on Mt. Watkins, Yosemite High Sierra

Skiing on Mt. Watkins, Yosemite High Sierra
from Ski-Experience

Ansel Adams
Gelatin silver print
20th C. USA
1986.366.40

Image of Telemark Turn on Mt. Watkins, Yosemite High Sierra

Telemark Turn on Mt. Watkins, Yosemite High Sierra
from Ski-Experience

Ansel Adams
Gelatin silver print
20th C. USA
1986.366.41

Image of Surf Sequence #1, San Mateo County Coast, California

Surf Sequence #1, San Mateo County Coast, California
from Museum Set Edition

Ansel Adams
Gelatin silver print
20th C. U.S.A.
2019.42.58

Image of Surf Sequence #2, San Mateo County Coast, California

Surf Sequence #2, San Mateo County Coast, California
from Museum Set Edition

Ansel Adams
Gelatin silver print
20th C. U.S.A.
2019.42.59

Image of Surf Sequence #3, San Mateo County Coast, California

Surf Sequence #3, San Mateo County Coast, California
from Museum Set Edition

Ansel Adams
Gelatin silver print
20th C. U.S.A.
2019.42.60

Image of Surf Sequence #4, San Mateo County Coast, California

Surf Sequence #4, San Mateo County Coast, California
from Museum Set Edition

Ansel Adams
Gelatin silver print
20th C. U.S.A.
2019.42.61

Image of Surf Sequence #5, San Mateo County Coast, California

Surf Sequence #5, San Mateo County Coast, California
from Museum Set Edition

Ansel Adams
Gelatin silver print
20th C. U.S.A.
2019.42.62

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Last updated: 01/26/2021

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Surf Sequence by Ansel Adams

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