Award-winning photographic artist and environmentalist Ansel Easton Adams was born on February 20, 1902, in San Francisco, California, near the Golden Gate Bridge. His father, a successful businessman, sent his son to private, as well as public, schools; beyond such formal education, however, Adams was largely self-taught. His career took off in 1941 when the U.S. government hired him to photograph the country’s national parks. His awe-inspiring works reveal his technical mastery and rank Adams among the world’s most acclaimed landscape photographers. Ansel Adams was not only a masterful photographic technician but a lifelong conservationist who pleaded for understanding of, and respect for, the natural environment. Adams, therefore, helped foster an environmental consciousness during his 37-year tenure on the Sierra Club’s Board of Directors.
