Ansel Adams' Moonrise, Hernandez sells for $221,000

A print of Ansel Adams' Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico has made $221,000 at Swann Auction Galleries.

The piece crossed the block on February 25.

Moonrise Hernandez Swann
Ansel Adams took this iconic photograph in New Mexico in 1941

The photograph is considered to be Adams' masterpiece and was shot from Route 84-285 in New Mexico on November 1, 1941.

Adams explained in an interview that he "saw an extraordinary situation - an inevitable photograph!

"I almost ditched the car and rushed to set up my 8x10-inch view camera… but I could not find my exposure meter!

"The situation was desperate: the low sun was trailing the edge of clouds in the west, and shadow would seem to dim the white crosses."

This print has an interesting history, having been presented as a gift by Adams to Edwin Land - a co-founder of Polaroid.

The record for Adams' work is $609,000, set for a 1948 print of Moonrise at Sotheby's in 2006.

Dorothea Lange's The General Strike, Policeman was another high performing lot, achieving $81,250.

The image was taken during a strike in San Francisco in 1934 and first published in Survey Graphic, a contemporary social journal.

Lange is best known for her highly evocative photographs of migrant workers and families during the Great Depression era.

The record for her work at auction is $822,400, set for a print of White Angel Breadline (1933) at Sotheby's New York in 2005.

You can take a look at all our art and photography memorabilia for sale by clicking here.

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