Few images are as familiar to American audiences as those taken by photographer Ansel Adams. This Saturday, Museum of Fine Arts opens Ansel Adams and the American West, a celebration of the black-and-white master and his contributions to the development of photography as an art form. The exhibition — drawn from MFA's holdings and various private collections in the surrounding region — includes a selection of more than 30 of Adams' most important photos, large-scale and otherwise, as well as a few dozen images by his contemporaries and those who followed in his creative footsteps. Each of the featured works attempts to reveal and reinterpret the American West, and all of the represented photographers have demonstrated a deep respect for the environment. July 5-Nov. 30, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., 1-4 p.m. Sun., 255 Beach Drive N.E., St. Petersburg, $12 adults/$10 seniors/$6 students seven and up with I.D. (members and children under 7 enter for free), 727-896-2667, fine-arts.org.
This article appears in Jul 2-8, 2008.