Ansel Adams Photos Found at Yard Sale
California painter Rick Norsigian caused a stir in the art world after a stack of never-before-seen Ansel Adams negatives he bought at a garage sale in Fresno, California, were authenticated on Tuesday. Norsigian said he found the photographs more than 10 years ago, and paid less than $70 for the negatives, suspecting they were Adams originals. Over the last six months, a team of experts analyzed the pictures. On Tuesday, they concluded that they were indeed the work of Adams. The negatives are now worth an estimated $200 million.
Among evidence cited was the testimony of two handwriting experts, who said the scrawl on the envelopes for the negatives came from Adams’ wife. A meteorologist also concluded, from the cloud formations in the photos, that one of the pictures was taken the same day and time as a famous print by Adams.
(You can read more about Ansel’s genius in the category: famous photographers, Article detailing his life is located here: Ansel Adams biography)
Adams became known for his black-and-white landscape photographs of the American West, and is largely considered one of the fathers of modern photography. The artist died in 1984, making Norsigian’s discovery all the more valuable. Adams’ family, however, believes the photographs have been faked.
Ansel’s grandson, Matthew Adams, who currently heads the Ansel Adams Gallery in San Francisco, says that many photographers took similar photos of the same landscapes at the same time his grandfather did. He believes there is no defining characteristics to distinguish these photos as Adams’ work. “There is no real hard evidence. I’m skeptical,” he said.
Norsigian has already begun to capitalize on his discovery; he’s charging $7,500 for prints from the negatives, and has begun plans for an exhibit at Fresno State University in October. Bill Turnage, managing director of the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust says the trust is considering a lawsuit against Norsigian for using a copyrighted name for commercial purposes. “It’s very distressing,” Turnage said. “We’ve been dealing with [Norsigian] for a decade,” he said. “I can’t tell you how many times he’s called me.”
Norsigian remains adamant that he has stumbled onto an accidental goldmine—and a valuable addition to the Adams collection. “This is absolutely beyond what I thought,” the 64-year-old said at a press conference held at a Beverly Hills art gallery on Tuesday. “I’m very lucky.”
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Trackback URL | Comments RSS FeedI was floored when I heard about this – if it’s real, what an amazing find!