Robert Adams: West from the Columbia

This work focuses on the charged space where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. The artist writes, “Of all the sacred places on the coast, none is more comforting than where rivers join the sea.”

Black-and-white photograph of the ocean with small waves and a cloudy sky with sunlight shining through the clouds

Two black-and-white photograph. Left photograph shows waves breaking on a rocky shore and a field of grass with a cloudy sky. Right photograph shows field of grass with a cloudy sky.

Black-and-white photograph of a rocky jetty leading to the ocean with water on each side.

Black-and-white photograph of a seashore with small waves and a clear sky

Black-and-white photograph of a beach with scattered clouds on the horizon.

Black-and-white photograph of a wave breaking with scattered clouds in the sky.

Vertical black-and-white photograph of a bleach with clouds overhead

Black-and-white photograph of a wave breaking against a rocky jetty

Robert Adams: West from the Columbia

Five black-and-white photographs of sunlight reflecting on the ocean — Robert Adams, Southwest from the South Jetty, Clatsop County, Oregon, 1991

five gelatin silver prints, 16 x 20 inches (each sheet) [40.6 x 50.8 cm]

Robert AdamsLooking south from Ecola

1990

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

Robert AdamsWinter, northwest across dunes and tidal marsh Inside the South Jetty, Clatsop County, Oregon

1990

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

Robert AdamsDirectly out the North Jetty, on the Washington coast

1992

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

Robert AdamsSouthwest from the South Jetty, Clatsop County, Oregon

1992

gelatin silver print, 14 x 15-1/2 inches (mount) [35.6x 39.4 cm]

Robert AdamsLow tide. Clatsop Beach, Oregon

1992

gelatin silver print, 14 x 15-1/2 inches (mount) [35.6x 39.4 cm]

Robert AdamsWinter. Southwest from the South Jetty, Clatsop County, Oregon

1991

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

Robert AdamsClatsop Beach, Oregon

1992

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

Robert AdamsSouthwest from the South Jetty, Clatsop County, Oregon

1992

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

Robert AdamsSouthwest from the South Jetty, Clatsop County, Oregon

1991

five gelatin silver prints, 16 x 20 inches (each sheet) [40.6 x 50.8 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