More About the Image:
Ansel Adams made this image in Arizona in 1946. Two years later, Ansel would include this image in his Portfolio 1, dedicated to his friend and mentor Alfred Stieglitz. Of the twelve prints included in that set, Ansel said he thought ‘I selected them a little bit on Stieglitz's reaction to them,’ although several accepted negative dates were after Stieglitz’s passing. (OH pg.445) Many of the compositions are ‘distinctly western’ – made in Alaska, Hawaii, Utah, Arizona and California (NA pg. 157). A number also feature bolt upright resolute and staid subjects – Mt. McKinley, a Black Oak, blinding white marble and clapboard facades – that are perhaps a reflection of the famously taciturn dedicatee. Among these images, this staunch, prickly saguaro continues that theme
So wrote Ansel Adams, whose photographs of the varied and rugged landscapes of the region have imprinted upon the imaginations of millions around the world. Beyond Yosemite and the High Sierra, the Southwest was one of Ansel’s best-loved regions of the country.
