Robert Adams: From the Missouri West

Looking at rivers, mountains, and flats stretching from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and our human mark upon the landscape, the artist reveals a deep faith in the strength and tenacity of the land.

A black and white photograph with mountains and a bright cloudy sky.

A black and white photograph of a road, with grass along either side. A pile of fallen leaves is in the foreground.

A black and white photograph of a river bank with leafless trees at the right edge of photograph and an overcast sky.

A black and white photograph of expansive mountains with trees and a hazy horizon.

A black and white photograph of an expansive valley with roads running through it with mountains on the horizon.

A black and white photograph of a small lake and a clear sky.

A black and white photograph of leaning trees with no leaves, and tree stumps against a clear sky.

A black and white photograph with plants in the foreground and highway with vehicles in the distance.

A black and white photograph of a burnt landscape with tree stumps and a hill on the horizon against a cloudy sky.

Robert Adams: From the Missouri West

Robert AdamsEdge of Green River, Wyoming

1978

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

Robert AdamsNebraska State Highway 2. Box Butte County, Nebraska

1978

gelatin silver print, 16 x 20 inches (sheet) [40.64 x 50.8 cm]

Robert AdamsMissouri River. Clay County, South Dakota

1977

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

Robert AdamsNortheast from Flagstaff Mountain. Boulder County, Colorado

1975

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

Robert AdamsInterstate 80. Carbon County, Wyoming

ca. 1979

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

Robert AdamsAlkali Lake. Albany County, Wyoming

1978

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

Robert AdamsCut-over pine forest by the shore, Tillamook County, Oregon

1979

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

Robert AdamsInterstate 80. Carbon County, Wyoming

ca. 1979

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

Robert AdamsClear-cut and burned, east of Arch Cape, Oregon

1976

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