Scott Nichols Gallery is pleased to present Masterworks of Photography, a special exhibition of iconic photographs certain to enrich your holiday season. Featured is seminal work by such eminent photographers as Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Brett Weston, Horace Bristol, William Garnett, Dorothea Lange, Wynn Bullock, George Tice, and Imogen Cunningham. Complementing this selection of important photographs will be an equally inviting array of modestly priced prints, books and ceramics by such artists as David Gilhooly.

Of particular interest for discerning photography collectors is a unique set of twelve cancelled prints of Ansel Adams’ universally acclaimed 1941 photograph, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico. Printed in the late 1960s, this remarkable group, the only known set in existence, was literally punch-stamped “CANCELLED” by Adams for failing to meet his exacting standards. The flaw, Adams felt, was due not to his printing, but to an imperfection in the paper. As proof, he cancelled these twelve prints and sent them back to the manufacturer, Ilford, for review. Today, they serve as both a compelling visual assemblage and a significant historic record of Adams’ working methods.

Also on display will be two equally remarkable vintage prints by Edward Weston. One, the evocative 1939 Nude Floating in a Pool, from the collection of Zilpha Riley, is the only known vintage print, signed and mounted by Weston, in existence. Of comparable import is an iconic 1924 portrait of Diego Rivera. Signed, titled and annotated “Mexico” in pencil on the mount, this print was a gift from Weston to his sister, Mary Weston Seaman, from whose personal collection it descends.

Another significant Mexican photograph, by Tina Modotti, depicts the Convent of Tepotzotlan, Mexico (Stairs through Arches). Taken in 1924, this possibly unique signed vintage platinum print is a strong, yet lyrical study in light, form and shadow.

Additional noteworthy photographs on view include an extremely rare vintage print of Unmade Bed, 1958 by Imogen Cunningham; Mendenhall Glacier, 1973 by Brett Weston; PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabaul, 1944 by Horace Bristol; and Real Estate Sign, Riverside County, California, 1937 and Mid Continent Small Farm, US 62, Oklahoma, 1938 by Dorothea Lange.

Masterworks offers fine-art lovers an opportunity to view these exceptional, museum-quality photographs together in the intimate Sonoma Square setting of the Scott Nichols Gallery.

Scott Nichols brings decades of experience and connoisseurship to his Scott Nichols Gallery. Based on the West Coast since 1992, the Gallery recently relocated to the historic town of Sonoma from its former home in San Francisco’s prestigious 49 Geary Street building. This distinctive new space, set in the tranquility of Sonoma Square, adds a distinguished new arts presence to the beautiful Wine Country region just north of San Francisco. Nichols specializes in Group f/64—among them Edward Weston, Ansel Adams and Imogen Cunningham—as well as work by established, contemporary and emerging photographers. Featured in his inventory is the largest private collection of portfolios by Brett Weston and deep holdings of works by such classic photographers as Ansel Adams, William Garnett, Dorothea Lange, Ruth Bernhard, Wynn Bullock, and George Tice.