When the search began for a host city for the 1932 Olympic Games, the first ever to be held in the United States, Yosemite entered the conversation. Competing for the top spot against Lake Tahoe and Lake Placid, the park’s supporters promoted its natural beauty, its newly constructed ice rink, and its growing reputation as a winter playground. During this period, Ansel Adams was already closely connected with the Yosemite Park and Curry Company, who often commissioned him to photograph life in the Valley.

 In 1927, to celebrate the grand opening of Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel, a holiday celebration worthy of its setting was first commissioned, and came to be known as A Christmas at Bracebridge Hall. Ansel Adams first joined the cast as a young performer in those earliest years but would later take on the role of transforming the production’s spirit into much of what it remains today.

In autumn of 1941, after months of careful correspondence and planning, Adams was given a commission by the U.S. Government, setting off on a government-funded journey through the West. The intent was clear: Adams would create photographic murals that not only preserved the sublime landscapes for posterity, but also instilled awe and pride in all who viewed them.

Group f/64, was formed by Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, and others, named after the tiny aperture that produced maximum depth and definition. In their manifesto, they rejected “pictorialism,” declaring that photography had no need to apologize for creating photographs.