Pursuit of Clarity: Adams, Van Dyke, Weston and the Straight Photography Movement

Ansel Adams, Willard Van Dyke and Edward Weston, three lifelong friends, each contributed to promoting photography as a fine art over the course of their distinctive careers, which converged with the founding of Group f.64 in 1932. Named after the smallest aperture setting on a large format camera, which could be used to produce photographs with foreground and background in sharp focus, the West Coast collective formally existed for just a few years. 

Along with classic close-ups of vegetables, flowers, and bodies, the exhibition includes portraits and landscapes made within the structure of straight photography. Photographs highlighting the artists’ formative style from the Neuberger Museum’s permanent collection are presented alongside publications including the work of the Group f.64 co-founders.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website