Robert Adams: Listening to the River

Through compositions made along creeks and riverbeds that meander through Denver suburbs, the artist invites the viewer to pause, look around, and celebrate the small fragments of nature’s beauty that can still be found in anonymous, everyday places.

Vertical black-and-white photograph of a grassy field with a plant on the left side and a tree on the right side.

Four black-and-white photographs with trees, fence posts, and a small stream.

Two black-and-white photographs with a windswept tree and overcast sky.

Five black-and-white photographs depicting an open field with light snow and a brightly lit sky.

Three black-and-white photographs with trees, a picnic table, and figures next to a pond with a brightly lit sky.

Four black-and-white photographs with a stream, trees, and a brightly lit sky with clouds.

Four black-and-white photographs with leafy tree branches and a brightly lit sky.

Six vertical black and white photographs of a rocky landscape at a tilted angle with trees against a brightly lit sky.

Four vertical black-and-white photographs of a hillside and leafy trees.

Five black-and-white photographs overlooking valleys and mountain-sides against a brightly lit sky.

Five vertical black-and-white photographs of a valley with shrubs and a downed tree and an overcast sky.

Four vertical black-and-white photographs showing an open field, a downed tree branch and telephone pole, a person standing in front of suburban home, and a structure with light snow and a brightly lit sky.

Four vertical black-and-white- photographs of an open grassy field with tree branches, flowers, and a brightly lit sky.

Five vertical black-and-white photographs of a grassy riverbank with trees and an overcast sky.

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Robert Adams: Listening to the River

Robert AdamsSouth of Longmont, Colorado

1986

14 x 11 inches (sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

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Robert AdamsUntitled

1994

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

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Robert AdamsUntitled

1994

two gelatin silver prints, 14 x 11 inches (each sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

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Robert AdamsUntitled

1994

five gelatin silver prints, 14 x 11 inches (each sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

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Robert AdamsUntitled

1994

three gelatin silver prints, 14 x 11 inches (each sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

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Robert AdamsUntitled

1991

four gelatin silver prints, 14 x 11 inches (each sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

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Robert AdamsUntitled

1994

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

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Robert AdamsUntitled

1994

six gelatin silver prints, 14 x 11 inches (each sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

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Robert AdamsUntitled

1994

four gelatin silver prints, 14 x 11 inches (each sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

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Robert AdamsUntitled

1994

five gelatin silver prints, 14 x 11 inches (each sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

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Robert AdamsUntitled

1994

five gelatin silver prints, 14 x 11 inches (each sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

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Robert AdamsUntitled

1994

four gelatin silver prints, 14 x 11 inches (each sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

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Robert AdamsEast of Longmont, Colorado

1986

four gelatin silver prints, 14 x 11 inches (each sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

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Robert AdamsAlong St. Vrain Creek. West of Longmont, Colorado

1986

five gelatin silver prints, 14 x 11 inches (each sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

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Related Portfolios

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

Robert Adams: The Plains, from Memory

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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]

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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]

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Robert AdamsThe Pawnee National Grassland, Colorado

1984

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

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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]

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Robert AdamsUntitled

2020

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

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Robert AdamsSouth of Burns, Oregon

1999

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

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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]

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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]

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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]

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

Robert Adams: The New West

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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]

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Robert AdamsGolden, Colorado

1969

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

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Robert AdamsClear Creek, near Idaho Springs

1968-72

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

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Robert AdamsEden, Colorado

1968

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

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Robert AdamsGrazing Land with Pines, near Falcon, Colorado

1968-72

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

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Robert AdamsGolden, Colorado

1970 / printed 1972

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

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Robert AdamsBasement for a tract house, Colorado Springs

1969

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

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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

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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