Robert Adams: California

These images from the Los Angeles Basin explore social and ecological disintegration, while insisting on a persistent strength of nature—that of the land and our own—as a reason for hope.

A black and white photograph of a tree trunk on the right, with a thin branch in silhouette on the left

Black-and-white photograph of trees against a slate grey sky

Black-and-white photograph of a landscape with mountain on the horizon

Black-and-white photograph of a large plant in the center of the frame against a cloudy sky

Black-and-white photograph of a broken tree against a smoggy sky

Black-and-white photograph of light streaming over a hillside with a freeway to the left

Black-and-white photograph of a rock formation against a bright clear sky

Black-and-white photograph with a flower bush in the foreground, houses and mountains in the distance, against a cloudy sky

Black-and-white photograph of a treelined street with parked cars

Black-and-white photograph of two leaning palm trees crossed to form an "x"

Black and white photograph of a road through tall eucalyptus trees.

Robert Adams: California

These images from the Los Angeles Basin explore social and ecological disintegration, while insisting on a persistent strength of nature—that of the land and our own—as a reason for hope.

Robert AdamsEucalyptus, Fontana, California

1982

gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Robert AdamsBroken trees, near Box Springs Mountains, east of Riverside, California

1982

gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Robert AdamsLooking into the San Bernardino Mountains from east of Mentone, California

1982

gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Robert AdamsCentury plant, near Ontario, California

1983

gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Robert AdamsLooking Toward Los Angeles, Northeast of Riverside, California

ca. 1983

gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Robert AdamsInterstate 10, east edge of Redlands, California

1982

gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Robert AdamsOn top of one of the La Loma Hills, Colton, California

1983

gelatin silver print, 15-1/2 x 14 inches (mount) [31.4 x 35.6 cm]

Robert AdamsRedlands, California

1983

gelatin silver print, 9-3/4 x 13-7/8 inches (sheet) [24.8 x 35.2 cm]

Robert AdamsRedlands, California

1982

gelatin silver print, 14 x 15-1/2 inches

Robert AdamsDead palms, partially uprooted, Ontario, California

1983

gelatin silver print, 16 x 20 inches (sheet) [40.6 x 50.8 cm]

Robert AdamsEucalyptus alley, Riverside, California

1978

gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 inches (sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

Wooden artwork with etchings and ink depicting a road and field with large white cloud

Robert Adams: The Plains, from Memory

Modest in size and painted in springlike hues with block-printing ink, these simplified compositions draw on the stillness and grandeur that Adams remembers from his time spent on the Colorado prairie.

Installation view of painted woodblock depicting a cloud like shape on white wedge on white wall

Color image of wooden sculpture with yellow and green paint — Untitled, 2020

ink on wood, 3-1/2 x 13-3/4 x 3/4 inches [8.8 x 34.9 x 1.9 cm]

Black and white photograph of an empty grassy plain — The Pawnee National Grassland, Colorado, 1984

gelatin silver print, 15 x 18-3/8 inches (image) [38.1 x 46.7 cm]

Vertical wooden artwork with etchings and ink depicting field with clear blue sky — Untitled, 2020

ink on wood, 17-1/4 x 11-1/4 x 3/4 inches [43.8 x 28.5 x 1.9 cm]

Color image of painted woodblock depicting horizon with washes of blue, green, and yellow on white stand

Square wooden artwork with etchings and ink depicting a yellow form — Untitled, 2020

ink on wood, 7 x 6-1/2 x 1/2 inches [17.7 x 16.5 x 1.2 cm]

Color photograph of woodblock depicting yellow, white, and blue washed forms on white stand

Framed black and white photograph of a tree against the sky with three wires crossing the lower third of the frame — South of Burns, Oregon, 1999

gelatin silver print, 17-1/2 x 14-1/2 inches (framed) [44.5 x 36.8 cm]

Color image of wooden sculpture with etchings and swatches of green, yellow, white, and blue — Untitled, 2020

ink on wood, 15-3/4 x 7-1/4 x 3/4 inches [40 x 18.4 x 1.9 cm]

Color image of a wooden sculpture with light blue and white ink — The Plains. Clarkville, Colorado, 2022

ink on wood, 8 x 12 x 3/4 inches [20.3 x 30.5 x 1.9 cm]

Black and white photograph of an empty plain as seen from the porch of an abandoned school — From the front porch of an abandoned one-room school house, looking into the Niobrara River Valley, Dawes County, Nebraska, 1978

gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Robert AdamsUntitled

2020

ink on wood, 6-1/2 x 6-1/4 x 1/2 inches [16.5 x 15.8 x 1.2 cm]

Robert AdamsUntitled

2020

ink on wood, 3-1/2 x 13-3/4 x 3/4 inches [8.8 x 34.9 x 1.9 cm]

Robert AdamsThe Pawnee National Grassland, Colorado

1984

gelatin silver print, 15 x 18-3/8 inches (image) [38.1 x 46.7 cm]

Robert AdamsUntitled

2020

ink on wood, 17-1/4 x 11-1/4 x 3/4 inches [43.8 x 28.5 x 1.9 cm]

Robert AdamsUntitled

2020

ink on wood, 7 x 6-1/2 x 1/2 inches [17.7 x 16.5 x 1.2 cm]

Robert AdamsSouth of Burns, Oregon

1999

gelatin silver print, 17-1/2 x 14-1/2 inches (framed) [44.5 x 36.8 cm]

Robert AdamsUntitled

2020

ink on wood, 15-3/4 x 7-1/4 x 3/4 inches [40 x 18.4 x 1.9 cm]

Robert AdamsThe Plains. Clarkville, Colorado

2022

ink on wood, 8 x 12 x 3/4 inches [20.3 x 30.5 x 1.9 cm]

Robert AdamsFrom the front porch of an abandoned one-room school house, looking into the Niobrara River Valley, Dawes County, Nebraska

1978

gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

A black and white photograph of an empty street lined with businesses.

Robert Adams: The New West

In a seminal series of images representing the suburban Southwest, Adams shows the brutal squalor of suburban architecture and its effect on the landscape, as well as the hopeful aspects of nature that are beyond our impact.

A black and white photograph overlooking a small town with mountains and clouds in the distance. — Robert Adams, Golden, Colorado, 1969

gelatin silver print, 13 x 11 inches (mount) [33 x 27.9 cm]

A black and white photograph of a billboard advertising Howard Johnson's against pine trees and a river in the foreground. — Robert Adams, Clear Creek, near Idaho Springs, 1968-72

gelatin silver print, 13 x 11 inches (mount) [33 x 27.9 cm]

Black and white photograph of barren intersection with single building on the horizon — Robert Adams, Eden, Colorado, 1968

gelatin silver print, 8 x 10 inches (sheet) [20.3 x 25.4 cm]

A black and white photograph of trees in an open field, with telephone lines running diagonally through the sky. — Robert Adams, Grazing Land with Pines, near Falcon, Colorado, 1968-72

gelatin silver print, 13 x 11 inches (mount) [33 x 27.9 cm]

Black and white photograph of a stretch of road with businesses and homes leading to the mountains — Robert Adams, Golden, Colorado, 1970 / printed 1972

gelatin silver print, 6 x 6 inches (image & sheet) [15.2 x 15.2 cm]

A black and white photograph of a lone person digging with mountains in the background. — Robert Adams, Basement for a tract house, Colorado Springs, 1969

gelatin silver print, 13 x 11 inches (mount) [33 x 27.9 cm]

Robert AdamsAlameda Avenue, Denver

1971

gelatin silver print, 13 x 11 inches (mount) [33 x 27.9 cm]

Robert AdamsGolden, Colorado

1969

gelatin silver print, 13 x 11 inches (mount) [33 x 27.9 cm]

Robert AdamsClear Creek, near Idaho Springs

1968-72

gelatin silver print, 13 x 11 inches (mount) [33 x 27.9 cm]

Robert AdamsEden, Colorado

1968

gelatin silver print, 8 x 10 inches (sheet) [20.3 x 25.4 cm]

Robert AdamsGrazing Land with Pines, near Falcon, Colorado

1968-72

gelatin silver print, 13 x 11 inches (mount) [33 x 27.9 cm]

Robert AdamsGolden, Colorado

1970 / printed 1972

gelatin silver print, 6 x 6 inches (image & sheet) [15.2 x 15.2 cm]

Robert AdamsBasement for a tract house, Colorado Springs

1969

gelatin silver print, 13 x 11 inches (mount) [33 x 27.9 cm]

Black and white photograph from inside a house under construction looking onto horizon, a diagonal beam cuts across the image, and a plaid workshirt hangs from the beam.

Robert Adams: Denver

A look at the man-made cityscape, abutted by the magnificent rise of the Rocky Mountains. “Many have asked, pointing incredulously toward a sweep of tract houses and billboards, why picture that?… One reason is…we need to improve things at home, and that to do it we have to see the facts without blinking.” – Robert Adams