Monolith, The Face of Half Dome
Digitally mastered print from Ansel's Original Photograph
Variety of image sizes
Expertly mounted and matted with professional framing available
This image is also available as a rolled 30x38" print
Available in our Yosemite Valley Set II
Overview
Monolith, The Face of Half Dome 1927 is one of Adams’ finest works and a lasting and iconic depiction of one of the most unique spots in the American wilderness. Its technical excellence and artistic mastery would soon launch Adams’ career as one of the finest commercial and fine-art photographers of the 20th century.
About Modern Replicas
Modern Replicas were born from the desire of the artist's family to create a collection of Ansel Adams prints that showcased the artist throughout his career and delivered at a level of quality comparable to an original. The collection of Modern Replicas span Ansel's lifetime of exploration in Yosemite, and also beyond to the remote wonders of the Southwest, the expanses of Alaska, the forests of the Pacific Northwest, and the coastlines of California and New England. Each black and white replica is reproduced directly from an original photograph by Ansel Adams, and carefully crafted to mirror the photograph's brilliance and richness in contrast and tone.
Exclusively from The Ansel Adams Gallery, these digitally-mastered prints leverage modern technologies, not available during Ansel's lifetime, in order to allow more people the enjoyment of owning and displaying an Ansel Adams piece. Available in a variety of sizes, up to 40x50 inches, Modern Replicas offer the flexibility to enhance both the larger and more intimate spaces of your home. Modern Replicas will stand the test of time. Made with museum-quality materials estimated to last over 180 years, their heavy paper mimics the look and feel of gelatin silver paper, and multiple pigments reflect the tones and highlights of Ansel's original works. Each replica can be finished with a custom frame of your choice, arriving at your home ready to hang. Authorized by the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust, this collection ranges in price from from $149 to $2,499, depending on size and framing.
Join us in celebrating a full range of some of Ansel's finest work, featuring America's wild places, its national parks, and its great mountain ranges. As an owner of an Ansel Adams Modern Replica, you become a part of the story behind these images—of wildness and wilderness, that spans generations and continues to inspire us today—to see, revere, and protect the Earth.
About the Image
On the chilly spring morning of April 10th, 1927, Ansel Adams set out along Yosemite’s LeConte Gully to capture an image of the striking sheer face of Half Dome, one of Yosemite National Park’s most iconic natural features. Though Ansel knew their route well, having spent four teenage summers as the keeper of the Sierra Club’s nearby lodge in Yosemite Valley, his companions—his fiancée Virginia Best and three close friends, including his lifetime friend and fellow wilderness photographer Cedric Wright—picked carefully along the steep gully in the icy shadow of nearby Grizzly Peak.
This was not Ansel’s first journey to photograph Half Dome. In fact, nearly a decade earlier, a 14-year-old Ansel had visited this very spot on a family trip to Yosemite. Eager to experiment with his brand-new Kodak Brownie camera, young Ansel snapped several pictures of Half Dome, including one upside-down image, his favorite, taken accidentally as he fell off a stump.
As the 25 year-old Ansel hiked, he was in the midst of personal and professional upheaval. Read More
What’s Included
Archival Pigment Print
Exclusive Reproduction from Ansel Adams' Original Photograph
Museum-Quality Frame & Finish
Ready to hang (wired backing)
Expert Packaging with Care
30 day - 100% Satisfaction Guarantee (or full refund)
Technical Details
Modern Replicas are very high quality reproductions of Ansel Adams images, available in multiple sizes, made using the most advanced digital technologies today. Each one is individually produced and inspected, assembled with the best materials, and designed to provide the most elegant presentation possible. Available exclusively from The Ansel Adams Gallery. Read More in Depth Here
Images
The technology begins with imaging, but the entire process begins with image selection. The Modern Replicas are reproductions made from original photographs hand printed by Ansel Adams, rather than from the negatives. This allows us to accurately capture Ansel’s intent when he made the photograph, including all of the choices he made in the darkroom – paper selection, burning, dodging, and toning – to achieve his “visualization”. We have chosen prints from the collections of the Ansel Adams family and the Ansel Adams Archive at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona. The exact print is selected based on the tonal values and clarity.
Technology
The imaging technology we are using is not generally available. It is currently in use by only three entities in the US: ourselves, the GettyMuseum, and the Smithsonian Institution. Every element of the image capture is carefully controlled and characterized – the image capture device, color temperature of the lighting, how light falls on the print, and colorimetric readings of the print itself.
Quality Control
Even in, or perhaps especially in, a mechanical process, quality control is critical. Sometimes the technology provides a level of QC that is acceptable, such as printers constantly self calibrating.
Archival
The “archival-ness” of a medium has become a very important in the world of photography and digital imaging and printing.
Display and Design
The design of the Modern Replica starts with the choice of paper. This is a heavy paper that mimics the look and feel of gelatin silver paper. We found in testing that it provided the richest feel and carried the image the best.
Framing Details
Frame your Modern Replica and receive it ready to hang and designed to stand the test of time. Our Gallery makes framing easy, offering competitive rates simply based on the size of your artwork. Every frame is professionally built by our team of expert craftspeople using the highest-quality materials (wood or metal moulding, acid-free mats and foam core, and optional acrylic with 99% UV protection).
We have selected five different options to accommodate different preferences and environments – wood and metal, each with two profiles, and different colors. Plexi-glass is used to provide protection for the print during shipping and for display.
Image Size
We size our prints according to nominal image size. Meaning not all prints are exactly the stated size. Ansel used many different cameras over his career that created finished prints in different aspect ratios. Modern Replicas are not cropped, they are faithful reproductions of Ansel Adams’ original photographs and adhere to the exact aspect ratio (relationship between the height and width of the image)
Size Chart*
| image size | matted size | metal frame | wood frame |
| 8 x 10" | 16 x 20" | ≈17 x 21" | ≈18 x 22" |
| 11 x 14" | 20 x 24" | ≈21 x 25" | ≈22 x 26" |
| 16 x 20" | 24 x 30" | ≈26 x 32" | ≈27 x 33" |
| 20 x 24" | 28 x 34" | ≈30 x 36" | ≈31 x 37" |
| 24 x 30" | 32 x 38" | ≈34 x 40" | ≈35 x 41" |
| 30 x 38" | 40 x 50" | ≈42 x 52" | ≈43 x 53" |
*This chart is approximate measurements. True measurements might be smaller or larger due to the image size.
Image sizes are based on nominal sizing.
Frame size is measured to the outside of the frame.
We use Tru-Vue Picture Framing Acrylic (plexiglass) on all of our prints. Acrylic is strong, shatter-resistant and abrasion-resistant. When shipping your artwork, acrylic vastly safer than glass.
Our Standard Acrylic is Tru-Vue Premium Clear Acrylic.This is high-quality framing-grade clear acrylic that provides safety and security from injury and breakage. This acrylic blocks 66% of UV rays.
Our Museum Acrylic is Tru-Vue Optium Museum Acrylic®. This is virtually invisible, yet provides the ultimate protection for your artwork. It is the highest-quality acrylic available and is used by the world’s most renowned museums. This acrylic provides 99% UV protection. Is anti-reflective, abrasion and shatter-resistant.
Wood Frames Our wood frames are premium quality solid wood, contemporary style frames with a flat face. Offered in White and Black Colors
Metal Frames Our metal frames are Nielsen flat-face frames in German Silver, Matte Black and Graphite colors.
The John Muir Trail
The book, Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail by Ansel Adams was originally published in 1938 and limited to only 500 copies. With a remarkable collection of 50 stunning views of the Sierra, one can consider this a masterpiece filled with photographs from Ansel Adams' legendary career.
The Sierra Nevada as well as the John Muir Trail played an integral role in shaping the career of Ansel Adams. To showcase this magnificent book and its photographs, The Ansel Adams Gallery welcomes you to explore The John Muir Trail map, view the book, and read articles about the John Muir Trail, Wilderness Act, and more.
Explore The John Muir Map
View Original Photographs along the trail
View Ansel Adams Exclusive Reproductions along the trail
Learn more about the book; Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail
Read Articles
