Supposed Ansel Adams Negs Found at a Garage Sale

[SuzanneR]

I've moved this to the lounge, so it's not visible to search engines. I think there are enough skeptics in this thread that anyone who decides that $7500 spent on these is a good idea has been warned. Still, I think it's a good idea to keep the thread and questions should any APUGger come across this offer again.

 

[Christopher Walrath]

Posted wirelessly..

Wow. I could buy a print, turn around and sell it for more money and build a darkroom.

Or just build the darkroom.

 

[Alex Bishop-Thorpe]

I like how the "dark room" prints are listed as hand made using the same technique used by Ansel Adams. You know, light, I guess.
At least darkroom prints are worth $6000 more than inkjets?

I find the whole case quite interesting, but at the same time I don't go to APUG to read press releases. If the poster actually took part in the discussion that would be great, and legitimise the whole thing, but even then I don't think any of us are gonna sink $7,500 in a print of a neg the photographer didn't want.

To me the whole thing turned from an interesting story - possibly part of photographic history - to used-car sales pitch a while back.

 

[eddym]

I wonder why nobody has commented on the ironic title of this thread:
Be The First To See Never Before Seen Images Created By Ansel Adams
Does this mean the OP has never seen them? How can anyone purchase prints from the negatives without having seen them first? Does anyone besides me think this sounds like a carnival sideshow barker?

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

This way to the egress!!!

 

[pentaxuser]

I wonder if the OP will ever post on APUG again?:

pentaxuser

 

[apeter]

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I have lived with this historic project for over three years and I assure you that we have done our homework. While not everyone may see it like we do, any legitimate and honest assessment must conclude that we have made a compelling case. I encourage you to check tomorrow when we will post the report of the panel of experts. I also encourage you to check the reports of objective news outlets like CNN which has only had an opportuinity to review a summary of the evidence at this point...please read the article on the link below. The national press conference is tomorrow at 10:30 am (PST) when we will release the final results detailing all of the evidence that is actually quite overwhelming My apologies for posting the link to the purchase page which has legitimately agitated some individuals but we were merely trying to show this group the actual images which all experts who have actually examined ALL the evidence now agree are images of stunning and breathtaking quality. These are indeed Ansel Adams' work in his pictorial phase and were made by a photographer of remarkable talent and ability...all the experts agree. Please check tomorrow when we post the final report.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/07/27/ansel.adams.discovery/

 

[paul ewins]

...which all experts who have actually examined ALL the evidence now agree are images of stunning and breathtaking quality....

In fact they were of such stunning quality that AA chose never to print them, instead carrying them around like the ark of the convenant. Only his lesser work could be shown to the eyes of the undeserving.

end of sarcasm.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

This is a serious discredit to the "experts" you trotted out, if they feel that negatives with obvious processing flaws and compositional mis-steps are breathtaking and stunning.

 

[winger]

objective news outlets like CNN

????????

I look forward to the actual report. I'm curious if it will stand up to what I'd expect (as a forensic chemist) in such a report.

 

[Christopher Walrath]

There is nothing objective about CNN. Just sayin'.

 

[snallan]

Call me old fashioned. But at this point we seem to be lacking an important element in proving the source of a potentially historic documents. That would be provenance! As it stands, no one can prove that these negatives were not produced by Adams, but then, no one can prove that they were!

 

[photomc]

Think I would rather have one of the 'Special Edition' prints done by Alan Ross for $225, than a print that may have been made by Adams. There is nothing about these that make me want to purchase one.

 

[Q.G.]

Think I would rather have one of the 'Special Edition' prints done by Alan Ross for $225, than a print that may have been made by Adams. There is nothing about these that make me want to purchase one.

Remember that there are not even prints alleged to have been made by Adams.

Perhaps you may want an inkjet print made from a scan of a glass plate allegedly exposed by Adams?

 

[JBrunner]

Think I would rather have one of the 'Special Edition' prints done by Alan Ross for $225, than a print that may have been made by Adams. There is nothing about these that make me want to purchase one.

None of the prints are made by AA. He doesn't make prints anymore. At least Alan Ross studied under him and has access to his printing notes. That gives you a facsimile at least in the printing. A negative by a photographer without the photographer interpreting in the darkroom it is simply a record. Nobody makes Ansel Adams prints anymore. That ability passed with Ansel. That's my 2 cents.

 

[SuzanneR]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003683284_ansel27.html

 

[Q.G.]

From the link above:
"I've heard some people build greenhouses out of glass-plate negatives. Maybe that ought to be considered in this case."

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

These are indeed Ansel Adams' work in his pictorial phase and were made by a photographer of remarkable talent and ability...all the experts agree.

For starters, Ansel Adams was NEVER much of a Pictorialist - he really didn't get into photography until after the Pictorialist movement was on the way out. Also, the images posted online from this collection are far from Pictorialist images - so if anything, that does make a connection to Ansel possible, but it shows the original poster's utter lack of understanding of photographic history. At the same time, a lack of Pictorialist styling would not make a connection to Ansel any stronger, as he was just one proponent of the f/64 school of modernist photography.

 

[Tony-S]

New Ansel Adams find

Wow, only worth US$200 million:

http://us.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/07/27/ansel.adams.discovery/index.html?hpt=C1

Some people have all the luck...

 

[Q.G.]

There are a couple of threads about this on APUG already.

Don't know about having luck though. Wanting luck badly, yes. But have...?

 

[Martin Aislabie]

Its nice that they have been recognised for what they are

How much valuable art has been thrown away just because people didn't know what they were looking at

Martin

 

[Kevin Kehler]

Adams' prints have value because they were printed by Adams or because he supervised/approved the prints. Negatives have some intrinsic value but nearly as much as prints by the masters hand; unless they can get Adams' estate to issue the prints (unlikely) or one of Adams' students to print them (possible) in the style of Adams, they aren't worth much in the long run. Hence the reason to make as much publicity now, get people to purchase now and realize later how little value their unrecognized non-authorized computer scanned, inkjet print actually has.

 

[perkeleellinen]

computer scanned, inkjet print actually has.

Isn't it possible to make proper prints from these negatives?

 

[hidesert]

When Adams started to become commercially successful and was getting multiple requests for prints he began to get detailed notes on the printing (which was very involved and complicated) so he could duplicate the original print. Without these notes the negatives have great historical value but little artistic value.

I own an unsigned print made by his assistant according to his notes and I believe it has great artistic value but no historical value. Its monetary value is only in the hundreds of dollars instead of tens of thousands but that matters not to me. I just like to look at it.

 

[cfclark]

Seems CNN was far more willing than many of us to take the claims of authenticity at face value. I'd like to know how disinterested (from a financial standpoint) all the appraisers and experts were. (Clearly the Beverly Hills art dealer is very interested.)