Ansel Adams' Photos of Pre-War Los Angeles Feature in New Exhibit

A marble statue of a thoughtful woman holding flowers is set against a dark sky, with several oil derricks visible in the background. — Cemetery Statue and Oil Derricks, Long Beach, California, 1939. Collection of the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. Courtesy of Ansel Adams Fortune Magazine Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

An exhibition that examines some of Ansel Adams’ lesser-known work taken in 1940s Los Angeles in the lead-up to World War II opens in Santa Barbara tomorrow.

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art offers a “groundbreaking exhibition” that reveals a little‑known chapter of America’s most celebrated photographer in Beyond the Wilderness: Ansel Adams in 1940s Los Angeles.

While Adams has earned universal recognition for his majestic black‑and‑white landscapes and his pioneering Zone System, this show spotlights a body of work that diverges sharply from his familiar wilderness imagery.

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Many of the featured works in the exhibition come from the collection of the Los Angeles County Public Library. The photographer offered them a series of 217 negatives portraying Los Angeles as America prepared for war.

Black and white photo of several tall oil derricks behind a cemetery with rows of headstones and palm trees in the foreground. — Sunnyside Cemetery in Long Beach.

Black-and-white photo of people lined up outside a diner called Campbell’s. Several cars are parked along the street. There is a large Campbell’s sign and a Coca-Cola sign. The scene appears to be from the mid-20th century. — Lunchtime for Douglas company employees.

Adams shot the images on assignment for Fortune magazine to document the lives of workers in Los Angeles’ booming aviation industry driven by aircraft company giants Douglas, Lockheed, and Northrop.

The exhibition also includes many of his iconic wilderness images, including three of his most famous landscapes on view in large format.

Four people sit on a bench overlooking a city street filled with cars in bright sunlight. Tall buildings line the street, and trees and bushes frame the foreground. The scene captures a calm urban moment. — Looking south on Hill Street.

A man in a hat crosses railroad tracks as a steam train approaches in the distance, with mountains and industrial buildings in the background under a cloudy sky. — Lockheed Plant in Burbank.

“Unlike many of Adams’ nature images, these offer us a raw and untouched glimpse into his eye for setting up and framing a photograph, instinct for finding rhythm and structure in everyday scenes, and willingness to experiment beyond the boundaries of his established aesthetic,” says Chris Rupp, interim museum director.

Adams became well known for his love of nature, his pioneering efforts toward conservation and environmental stewardship, and his moral convictions regarding the United States’ internment of Japanese Americans.

A black and white photo of a street with classic 1940s cars driving past the round, domed building of The Dome Drive-In Dairy. Palm trees and a tall street lamp line the road; a large sign sits atop the dome. — Brown Derby on Wilshire Boulevard.

Black and white portrait of an older man with a bald head, bushy white beard, thick-rimmed glasses, and a patterned shirt. The reflection of windows appears in his glasses. — Ansel Adams in 1979.

“Viewed together, the photographs in this exhibition remind us that Ansel Adams was far more than the maker of pristine wilderness icons,” Rupp says.

“He was an artist attentive to the world as it was and how it ought to be. Whether documenting factory workers on the brink of war, confronting the injustice of incarceration at Manzanar, or shaping luminous visions of the Sierra, Adams used his camera to advocate for dignity, clarity, and stewardship.”

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art hosts a free, public opening reception for the exhibition on Thursday, January 15, from 4 to 6 P.M. The show runs until March 28, 2026.

Image credits: Courtesy of Ansel Adams Fortune Magazine Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

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