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Gelatin silver print of New Mexican landscape by Ansel Adams
Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico
Gelatin silver print of New Mexican landscape by Ansel Adams
Gelatin silver print of New Mexican landscape by Ansel Adams

Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico

Artist (American, 1902 - 1984)
Date1941 (printed 1980)
Mediumgelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 15 1/8 × 19 1/4 in. (38.4 × 48.9 cm)
Support: 15 3/16 × 19 1/4 in. (38.6 × 48.9 cm)
Mat: 24 1/8 × 30 1/8 in. (61.3 × 76.5 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineGift of anonymous donor, 2013
Object number2013.7
DescriptionVista of Hernandez, New Mexico, with most of the picture taken up by a dark sky with horizontal cloud formations close to the snow-capped Sangre de Christo mountains and a near-full moon above them. In the foreground are the church and cemetery with white crosses prominent.
Text Entries

See "Ansel Adams, Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs," Little, Brown & Co., 1983, pp.40-43. 

Late on the afternoon of October 31, 1941, as Ansel Adams returned from photographing in northern New Mexico, he noticed the moon rising above the mountains, illuminating the village of Hernandez along with its church and cemetery. He and his companions stopped the car and Adams quickly set up his 8 x 10 view camera to make a picture. His light meter was missing, so he guessed at the proper exposure and had time to make only one exposure before the scene changed. The image became one of the artist’s most famous and beloved pictures and he printed it hundreds of times, interpreting the scene a little differently with each print. It continues to be an enduring symbol of the beauty and mystery of New Mexico. A scientist at the High Altitude Observatory in Boulder, Colorado, determined that it was taken on Oct. 31 at 4:05 p.m., based on the moon's position in the sky.

An artist label was formerly attached to back of framed work but is now loose and stored in object file. The label printed in red and black ink contains the following: AA ANSEL ADAMS // ROUTE 1, BOX 181, CARMEL, CALIFORNIA 93923 // TELEPHONE (408) 624-2558 // PROPERTY OF ANSEL ADAMS // ON LOAN TO SENATOR JEFF BINGAMAN // PLEASE RETURN TO THIS ADDRESS. // Postmaster: Return postage guaranteed. This parcel may be opened for postal inspection.
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