Adams, Ansel. The Mural Project.

Photographs by Ansel Adams with text by Peter Wright and John Armor. Reverie, 1989. 1st edition, dust jacket with a few small indentations, gift inscription on front flyleaf, otherwise fine. (Photo of cover is a stock photo.) Summary:

The Mural Project, published by Reverie Press in 1989, is the first comprehensive publication of a massive, government-commissioned project that was nearly lost to history. It documents Ansel Adams’ ambitious 1941–1942 assignment for the U.S. Department of the Interior, intended to produce giant photographic murals for the department's new headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Core Concept: Photography on a Heroic Scale

In 1941, Harold Ickes (Secretary of the Interior) hired Adams to create a visual record of the American West that would emphasize the majesty of the National Parks and the success of federal reclamation projects.

• The Vision: Unlike his smaller gallery prints, these images were designed to be enlarged to a monumental scale ($10\times 15$ feet or larger). Adams had to adjust his technique to ensure the clarity and "sweep" of the images would hold up at these proportions.

• The Interruption: The project was abruptly halted after the attack on Pearl Harbor when funding was diverted to the war effort. The murals were never completed as originally planned, and the negatives remained in the National Archives for decades.

Key Themes and Visual Content

The book is divided into two distinct, yet complementary, focuses:

• The Pristine Wilderness: This includes some of Adams' most iconic work, including the famous Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, which was actually taken while he was on the "Mural Project" payroll. It features the grand vistas of the Grand Canyon, Glacier National Park, and Yosemite.

• Human Intervention and Progress: Unlike many of Adams' other books, this one prominently features man-made structures. He photographed the construction of the Boulder (Hoover) Dam, irrigation projects, and Native American pueblos. These images show the harmony—or tension—between natural power and human engineering.

Text and Curation

• Peter Wright and John Armor: The authors provide essential historical context, detailing the bureaucratic struggles Adams faced and the political climate of the New Deal era. Their text transforms the book from a mere art portfolio into a fascinating study of government patronage of the arts.

• The "Lost" Portfolio: The 1989 edition was significant because it brought these 221 photographs—many of which had never been seen by the public—into a single, cohesive narrative.

Significance

The Mural Project is a crucial volume for understanding the political and professional life of Ansel Adams. It showcases his dual role as a passionate environmentalist and a pragmatic professional willing to work within the government system.

The book remains a testament to Adams’ technical mastery; even when working for a federal agency, he refused to compromise his "straight photography" aesthetic, producing a body of work that serves as both a historical record and a spiritual celebration of the American landscape.

"The Mural Project was to be the culmination of my work in the National Parks... a synthesis of my experience with the American earth." — Ansel Adams