Photographer Ansel Adams’ mastery of the medium is on full display in Oak Tree, Snow Storm, Yosemite, from Portfolio One (1948), offered in our Photographs: Then and Now sale on Artnet Auctions. Widely considered one of Adams’ most important and celebrated works, Oak Tree, Snow Storm, Yosemite showcases the photographer’s attention to light’s complexities and his sensitivity to tonal range. 

This particular snow-covered oak tree in Yosemite was a subject Adams returned to on many occasions throughout his career. A technical master of his craft, Adams paved the way for generations of photographers after him through his experimentation with light gradations, degrees of exposure, and new techniques. 

Ansel Adams, Oak Tree, Snow Storm, Yosemite, from Portfolio One (1948). Courtesy of Artnet Auctions.

Over the last 12 years, only two vintage prints of Oak Tree, Snow Storm, Yosemite in the 8×10’’ format have been sold on the public market (the print offered in our Photographs: Then and Now sale marks the third occasion). One was sold in 2017 for $34,375 at Doyle New York, and in other in 2008, fetching $25,000 at Sotheby’s New York. Amid the ever-fluctuating photography market, the market for this print has remained stable, with numerous sales between 2002 and 2008 achieving anywhere from $14,000 to $31,000. Artnet Auctions’ estimate of $18,000–25,000 puts this photograph in an extremely reasonable range, presenting a solid opportunity to collect a rare work at a great price. 

Adams lots tend to sell right in their estimated price range or slightly above it, denoting a predictable, active, and stable market.

What’s more, this print comes from a significant portfolio, Portfolio One, which had special meaning to Adams. “This collection is, in a way, a personal autobiography in photographic images, the selection of which is based on emotional impulse and personal experience rather than an intellectual or historical judgment,” he said of the collection, which he had dedicated to Alfred Stieglitz.

Adams was renowned for his extraordinary work in the darkroom and printed every image for every portfolio himself. Vintage prints of Oak Tree, Snow Storm, Yosemite from Portfolio One are part of the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Portland Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago. 

Over the years, the market for Adams only continues to grow. Just last month at Phillips, a mural size print sold for $412,500, achieving one of the top 12 results in the artist’s auction history. As the most established classic photographer on the primary and secondary markets, Ansel Adams’ work is found in the permanent collection of nearly every major public institution. Don’t miss the chance to add his work to your collection — live for bidding now through August 11.

To learn more work by Adams, click here to see the lot page on Artnet Auctions.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the specialist for this lot, Madeline Cornell, with any questions.

Junior Specialist, Photographs

[email protected]

(212) 497-9700 ext. 167

*Lead image by Alan Ross