Landscape Culture: Ansel Adams and Mary Austin's Taos Pueblo

This study examines the interplay between modernist and regionalist aesthetics through the collaboration between Ansel Adams and Mary Austin on the 1930 photobook Taos Pueblo. It reveals how Adams's shift from pictorialism to a straight photographic style, characterized by clean lines and deep focus, contrasted with Austin's expectations for a more traditional representation of artistic genius. The analysis highlights that modernism and regionalism were mutually constitutive in the early-to-mid 20th century, challenging the notion that they were antithetical movements. The research approach involves comparing Adams's portrait of Austin to his earlier work on Robinson Jeffers, as well as examining the layout and symbolic significance of the photographs within their respective publications.

Daniel Worden. (2013). Landscape Culture: Ansel Adams and Mary Austin’s Taos Pueblo Criticism, 55(1), 69. https://doi.org/10.13110/criticism.55.1.0069