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Ansel Adams: career timeline

American · 1902–1984 · Works grouped by the decade they were made (the cataloged date, or a date in the signature or title), not by sale date. 269 of 345 lots (78% of works) have a usable creation date; the others are listed at the end by the decade they were sold. Each work is shown once, even when it sold more than once.

Ansel Adams: works at auction by decade the work was made. Each work counted once; medians use sold works only, in US dollars.
Decade madeWorksSoldMedian sold priceMain medium
1920s2722$9.1kSign upPhotograph
1930s4739$6.4kSign upPhotograph
1940s10191$11.4kSign upPhotograph
1950s5850$8kSign upPhotograph
1960s3229$4.6kSign upPhotograph
1980s22$603Sign upLithograph

Where does mine fit?

Enter what you know about a work by Ansel Adams to see the closest recorded works from the same period, with their auction results. These are past records only, not a valuation: condition, authenticity, provenance and the market all change what a work brings. For an auction estimate of your work, get a free auction estimate.

1920s 27 works

Sold
22 of 27
Median
$9.1kSign up
Average
$14.3kSign up
Typical size
9.5 × 9.5 in (24 × 24 cm)
Mediums
Photograph (24), Print (other) (2), Lithograph (1)
Subjects
Rivers & marshes (6), Sunsets & night (1), Landscapes (1)
Show 12 more (1920s)

…and 3 more works from this group in the full results list.

1930s 47 works

Sold
39 of 47
Median
$6.4kSign up
Average
$20.7kSign up
Typical size
9 × 9.5 in (23 × 24 cm)
Mediums
Photograph (44), Other (2), Print (other) (1)
Subjects
Rivers & marshes (9), Landscapes (8), Flowers & still life (2)
Show 12 more (1930s)

…and 23 more works from this group in the full results list.

1940s 101 works

Sold
91 of 101
Median
$11.4kSign up
Average
$34.6kSign up
Typical size
14.5 × 15 in (37 × 38 cm)
Mediums
Photograph (97), Lithograph (2), Drawing (1)
Subjects
Sunsets & night (17), Rivers & marshes (14), Landscapes (12)
Show 12 more (1940s)

…and 77 more works from this group in the full results list.

1950s 58 works

Sold
50 of 58
Median
$8kSign up
Average
$13kSign up
Typical size
15 × 15 in (38 × 39 cm)
Mediums
Photograph (58)
Subjects
Landscapes (11), Rivers & marshes (10), Figures & portraits (3)
Show 12 more (1950s)

…and 34 more works from this group in the full results list.

1960s 32 works

Sold
29 of 32
Median
$4.6kSign up
Average
$9.6kSign up
Typical size
11.5 × 10 in (29 × 25 cm)
Mediums
Photograph (31), Print (other) (1)
Subjects
Sunsets & night (16), Rivers & marshes (5), Beach scenes (2)
Show 12 more (1960s)

…and 8 more works from this group in the full results list.

1980s 2 works

Sold
2 of 2
Median
$603Sign up
Average
$603Sign up
Typical size
18.5 × 14 in (46 × 36 cm)
Mediums
Lithograph (1), Photograph (1)
Subjects
Landscapes (1)

Creation date not recorded

75 works have no cataloged or signed date. They are grouped here by the decade they were last sold, which says nothing about when they were made.

Undated, sold in the 2000s 4 works

Sold
3 of 4
Median
$15.4kSign up
Average
$10.9kSign up
Typical size
12 × 12.5 in (31 × 32 cm)
Mediums
Photograph (4)
Subjects
Rivers & marshes (2)

Undated, sold in the 2010s 18 works

Sold
17 of 18
Median
$2.5kSign up
Average
$11.1kSign up
Typical size
9.5 × 9.5 in (24 × 24 cm)
Mediums
Photograph (13), Other (4), Print (other) (1)
Subjects
Rivers & marshes (3), Sunsets & night (1)
Show 6 more (2010s)

…and 6 more works from this group in the full results list.

Undated, sold in the 2020s 53 works

Sold
48 of 53
Median
$3.6kSign up
Average
$7.5kSign up
Typical size
9.5 × 9.5 in (24 × 24 cm)
Mediums
Photograph (47), Other (3), Print (other) (2)
Subjects
Sunsets & night (8), Landscapes (7), Rivers & marshes (6)
Show 6 more (2020s)

…and 41 more works from this group in the full results list.

Medians and averages count sold works only (each work's most recent sale), in US dollars at the sale-date rate. Works cataloged as “attributed to”, “circle of” or similar are left out. All Ansel Adams auction results →