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White Post and Spandrel, Columbia, California

Ansel Adams

Artwork Details

White Post and Spandrel, Columbia, California
1953
Ansel Adams
gelatin silver print on paper
29 in x 23 in (73.7 cm x 58.4 cm);19 5/16 in x 14 3/16 in (49 cm x 36 cm);32 1/8 in x 26 1/8 in (81.6 cm x 66.36 cm)
Museum Purchase
1974/1.131

Description

Subject Matter:

This photograph of a wooden post holding up a dilapidated tin roof reveals the capacity of photography to transform even the most banal of subjects. Here, the dark wall and door of the house in the background of the image almost disappear behind the ghostly, glowing white column. The vertical beam of the post creates a strong T shape with the horizontal line of the tin roof that dominates the composition and flattens the depth of the image. The print was published in a portfolio of 10 landscape photographs that spanned a twenty-year period of time; this image offers a nostalgic yet unsettling interpretation of the architecture of the American countryside.

Physical Description:

Photograph of a white painted post holding up the tin roof of a porch.

Usage Rights:

If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.