Ansel Adams - Photographs New York Friday, April 5, 2024 | Phillips
  • This print was gifted to Dorothy Varian, wife of Silicon Valley entrepreneur Russell Varian. It was given to help secure Varian’s dream of protecting what is now Castle Rock State Park in California, which contains lands that Varian loved. Dorothy Varian fulfilled her husband’s dream after his death in 1959. She worked with Sempervirens Fund to create Castle Rock State Park in 1968. This print was bequeathed to Sempervirens Fund in her will to help benefit the park.

     

    Sempervirens Fund is California's first land trust, founded in 1900 to protect redwoods in the Santa Cruz mountains. Proceeds from the sale will support the ongoing care, expansion, and recreational experiences at Castle Rock State Park, in Los Gatos, California. 

    • Provenance

      Gift from the photographer to Dorothy Varian, wife of Russell Varian
      Bequeathed to Sempervirens fund to benefit Castle Rock State Park, California

    • Literature

      Stillman, Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs, p. 228

PROPERTY OF SEMPERVIRENS FUND SOLD TO BENEFIT CASTLE ROCK STATE PARK, CALIFORNIA

379

Teklanika River, Denali National Park, Alaska

1947
Gelatin silver print from Portfolio Four: What Majestic Word. In Memory of Russell Varian, printed 1963.
9 x 11 1/2 in. (22.9 x 29.2 cm)
Signed in ink on the mount; numbered '235' in ink on the portfolio label affixed to the reverse of the mount. Number 235 from an edition of 260, of which 250 were for sale.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$3,000 - 5,000 

Sold for $3,810

Contact Specialist

Sarah Krueger
Head of Department, Photographs
skrueger@phillips.com
 

Vanessa Hallett
Worldwide Head of Photographs and Chairwoman, Americas
vhallett@phillips.com

Photographs

New York Auction 5 April 2024