Just as Yale University Art Gallery’s exhibit of artwork about Yosemite is ending its run — the show closes Dec. 31 — another exhibit about the legendary national park is beginning its run, at New Britain Museum of American Art. Both exhibits were mounted to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the creation of the National Parks Service, which was founded by an act of Congress on Aug. 25, 1916.
Yosemite is one of the most revered of the country’s 59 national parks and NBMAA’s exhibit focuses on the artist most indelibly associated with the California valley: photographer Ansel Adams (1902-1984).
Sixteen silver gelatin prints taken all over the nature preserve between 1927 and 1960 were loaned for exhibition by a private collector. The photographs, hanging in the second-floor Helen T. and Philip B. Stanley Gallery, were originally published in a book in 1960 by the Sierra Club.
The familiar sites are on view: the Merced River, Half Dome, El Capitan, Bridalveil Fall. The image of El Capitan shows the peak half in shadow, half lit by a shaft of sunlight that divides the face by a jagged line. Adams’ point of view on the Bridalveil image is extraordinary: the water seems to fall from an impossibly high point into a dark nowhere. Another unique point of view is seen in “Trees and Cliffs,” shot from an angle that makes the tree look taller than the mountain behind it.
However, the most memorable pieces were created when Adams got so close to his subject the resulting image takes on an abstracted feel. “Water and Foam,” a close-up image of swirls of light-colored foam against a dark water background, is enhanced by a splash of sunshine in one corner, and by Adams’ working in black-and-white, enhancing the contrast. “Grass & Pool” shows sharp blades of grass popping up through dark water.
As majestic as the scenery is, some of Adams’ photos put that majesty in perspective. Half Dome is dwarfed by a massive thundercloud. Clouds gather ominously over the valley. Regardless of the magnificence below, it’s insignificant compared to the sky above.
In other NBMAA news, there’s only one more week to see “As We See It: The Collection of Gail and Ernst von Metzsch,” the eclectic collection of representational work by Boston-area contemporary artists. It closes Jan. 8.
PORTFOLIO III: YOSEMITE VALLEY will be at New Britain Museum of American Art, 56 Lexington St., until April 16. nbmaa.org.
