MONOLITH
THE FACE OF HALF DOME

In 2027, The Ansel Adams Gallery celebrates the 100th anniversary of Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, the photograph that transformed Ansel Adams’ understanding of what photography could be. Made from Yosemite’s famed Diving Board overlook in 1927, Monolith was more than a dramatic view of one of the park’s iconic landmarks. It marked Adams’ triumph of visualization: the process of imagining the finished image and bringing it into being through photography.

A century later, Monolith remains one of the defining images in the history of photography. Its stark sky, luminous granite, and extraordinary emotional force helped announce the arrival of Adams’ mature artistic vision and forever changed the way generations would see not just Yosemite, but the American landscape—and the expressive possibilities of the photographic print. This centennial offers an invitation to return to the moment of the making of this iconic image, to celebrate the vision and insight that define Ansel Adams.