OUR CURRENT ANSEL ADAMS INVENTORY:

Dateline: Bangkok, August 2008

While Edward Carter has been acquiring extraordinary examples of Ansel Adams' work for many, many years, the recent surge of interest in photography has left us without any current inventory. However, at the end of this section are important reports for new buyers as well as for seasoned collectors. Please read Ansel Adams’ Original, Signed Prints--A Précis

Adams did all of his own printing, believing it to be as important to his final visualization as making the original negative. Adams’s archive was established at the University of Arizona in the 1970s. Following his death, his negatives were shipped to the University where they are archivally stored at the Center for Creative Photography. Conditions placed on the archive include that no prints for sale will ever be made from these negatives. Therefore the prints that are offered by The Edward Carter Galleries are one of a kind, originals, made, printed, and signed by Ansel Adams himself.

Adams signed his photographs variously as “Adams,” “A.E. Adams,” “Ansel E. Adams,” or “Ansel Easton Adams” until 1932 when he discovered that his uncle and namesake, Ansel Easton, had embezzled Adams’ father of what remained of the family fortune. From 1932-1934, Adams usually signed “Ansel E. Adams” and from 1934 until the end of his life in 1984, he only signed “Ansel Adams.” All photographs offered by The Edward Carter Galleries are signed originals.

(Note: All photograph and mount dimensions are given in inches, height before width. Condition in all cases is excellent to pristine. While this information is believed to be correct, contact eglcarter@yahoo.com to verify any detail as well as the current availability of the prints.)

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ANSEL ADAMS ORIGINAL, SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHS—A PRIMER

Vintage, older, and modern

As connoisseurship of Ansel Adams’ photography grows, we believe it is important to separate his prints into three categories: vintage, older, and modern. Vintage prints are those made soon after he made the negative. Older prints are made more than three years after the negative, but not within the last 20 years of Adams’ life. Modern prints are those made from 1970 until his death in 1984.

Vintage prints can be defined as those where no more than three years separate the print date from that of the negative. These prints usually conform very closely to Adams’ initial visualization of the image. Adams’ early vintage prints are rare. Since there was little market for art photography until the 1970s, he made relatively few prints. Adams’ vintage prints from the 1920s through the 50s tend to be softer and more delicate than his later work. They are also often physically smaller, sometimes contact prints.

The market for Adams’ photographs grew dramatically during his later life. With the acceptance of photography as a collectable fine art, demand for Adams’ prints became exceptionally strong during the 1970s. Adams printed to order thus most of the prints he made were "modern" photographs printed from older negatives.

Desiring to move on to other projects, rather than making another print of Moonrise or other of his more popular images, Adams announced that he would accept no more print orders after December 31, 1975. He received orders for 3,000 prints at that time and spent the next three years filling those orders. From 1979 until his death in 1984, he made photographs for his Museum Set project, and some other images that he wanted to print. Adams did all of his own printing, believing it to be as important to his final visualization as making the original negative. Adams’ archive was established at the University of Arizona in the 1970s. Following his death, his negatives were shipped to the University where they are archivally stored at the Center for Creative Photography. Conditions placed on the archive include that no prints for sale will ever be made from these negatives.

Therefore the prints that are offered by The Edward Carter Galleries are one-of-a-kind, originals, made, printed, and signed by Ansel Adams himself.

Most Adams’ images are available only as "modern" prints, a number are available as "older" prints, and just a few are available as "vintage prints." We believe that Ansel Adams’ vintage prints will rise significantly in value as connoisseurship increases over the next decade. Currently, considering their rarity, vintage prints are the most undervalued segment of the market.

The Signature

Adams signed his photographs variously as “Adams,” “A.E. Adams,” “Ansel E. Adams,” or “Ansel Easton Adams” until 1932 when he discovered that his uncle and namesake, Ansel Easton, had embezzled Adams’ father of what remained of the family fortune. From 1932-1934, Adams usually signed “Ansel E. Adams” and from 1934 until the end of his life in 1984, he only signed “Ansel Adams.”

All photographs offered by The Edward Carter Galleries are signed originals.

Special Edition Prints

In October 1937, Virginia Adams (Ansel’s wife) inherited her father's Yosemite painting studio, Best's Studio. Appalled at the trashy level of the curios that had been sold at the gallery, Ansel hired an assistant to make souvenir prints from a selection of his Yosemite negatives. These were called special edition prints and sold for $3/apiece. They are made to this day, and are clearly differentiated from original photographs made by Ansel himself by the stamping on the verso of the mount stating they are Special Edition Prints or SEP's.

From about 1955 to 1972, Ansel signed them and then from 1972-1974 he initialed them. The same assistant, Alan Ross, has been printing them (by the thousands—hundreds to thousands every year of Moon and Half Dome, alone). They now are sold for $150/apiece, including acid-free mount and over matt. We value the signed SEP's at $150 plus the value of the signature/autograph, and the initialed at even less.

People are stung by SEP's all the time. We have fought hard to keep them out of the big auctions—Sotheby's, etc. —and even though we have worked with all those organizations, on occasion an SEP does slip by and into a catalog and then at auction.

Jim and Mary Alinder, once associated with this gallery, gave two SEP's to one of their children’s school auctions some 15 years ago. Mary stood at the podium and very clearly explained what they were and what their current market value was, and yet two people bid them up to nearly a thousand dollars apiece!

Ansel was trained as a classical pianist and he liked to apply musical terms to photography. He described his negative as the score and each print would be his new performance from that score. It was imperative for Ansel to perform his own score—to not only make the negative but to interpret each into a print.

Therefore, Special Edition Prints are not original Ansel Adams—they are, as they have always been, lovely and well-priced souvenirs. The Edward Carter Galleries do not deal in Special Edition Prints.

Our philiosophy

The Edward Carter Galleries maintain a small inventory of signed, original Ansel Adams photographs, feature the work of other masters of the 19th and 20th centuries, and represent some of today’s most talented artists.

Redefining the Gallery Experience:
· We’re more interested in helping you appreciate photography than we are in selling you a photograph.
· When you fall in love with a particular image, we’ll do everything we can to help you acquire it.
· When you buy it, you’re not a "customer," you’re our client—there’s a big difference between the two!
· As you become a collector, our experts will always be at your service.
· With clients and associates worldwide, we’ll help you manage your portfolio through sales as well as acquisitions.
· A Certificate of Authenticity and Insurance Appraisal accompanies each of our photographs.

“Our galleries help people appreciate the art of the craft, and understand how fine photography appreciates.” Edward Carter

Edward Carter Galleries PTE Ltd. is based in Singapore, and has many projects around the world. Its mission is to discover talented photographers, to show their work in regional galleries alongside Ansel Adams, and to leverage the Internet to bring superior service to our clients worldwide.

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