A Rare Collection of Ansel Adams Images Is Coming to Australia

The indelible legacies of two photography titans are set to hit Canberra this year when ‘Max Dupain and Ansel Adams: In Search of Perfection’ lands at the National Gallery of Australia. The upcoming exhibition, which tours the Parkes-based institution in March 2026, showcases some of the most iconic photographs ever taken, albeit from very different perspectives.

‘In Search of Perfection’ will feature a collection of approximately 50 black-and-white images captured from the 1930s through to the 1960s. According to curator Anne O’Hehir, the exhibition not only fuses Dupain’s architectural photographs and Adams’ iconic landscapes of the American West, but also marks the first time the two creatives have been exhibited together.

“Though working on opposite sides of the Pacific, the two shared a commitment to creating timeless, heroic images remarkable for their formal clarity, tonal precision and exploration of the expressive potential of light,“ the exhibition notes read. “The result was some of the most emblematic photographs of the 20th century—making Dupain and Adams among the few photographers in history to become household names in their home countries.“

Max Dupain and Ansel Adams: In Search of Perfection

• Exhibition: Max Dupain and Ansel Adams: In Search of Perfection
• Location: The National Gallery of Australia
• Address: Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country, Parkes Place East, Parkes ACT 2600
• Curator: Anne O’Hehir
• Dates: March 2026
• Price: Free

‘Max Dupain and Ansel Adams: In Search of Perfection’ will focus primarily on the origins and development of both artists’ photographic practices. It will then shift to their mature work, before bringing together photographs that share an “uncannily similar approach” to image-making.

Seeing the work in conversation together, it’s hard not to draw parallels. Despite being separated in each side of the Pacific, both photographers sought to define national identity through image-making. Sydney-based Dupain, long heralded as a pioneer of modernism in Australian photography, captured a newly modern Australia, while California-native Adams, elevated the American wilderness into a site of the spiritual sublime.

Max Dupain: A Master of Architecture

Both were considered masters of black and white photography, however, each embodied a unique visual language that prioritised structure, balance and control over sentimentality. Dupain’s catalogue is defined by photographs of buildings, particularly his collaborative practice over almost four decades with modernist architect Harry Seidler. However, it is his cultural contributions that will be on display in the upcoming exhibition.

Among the images on display is Dupain’s ‘Sunbaker’. Arguably Australia’s most well-known portrait, the 1938 image was captured by Dupain while camping at Culburra Beach on the NSW South Coast. Simple in terms of construction and composition, ‘Sunbaker’ reflects the profound austerity of the harsh Australian light, personified through the stillness of the male form.

Admittedly, Dupain’s work may not have achieved the lofty heights that it so richly deserved outside of Australia, but there is a reason his images continue to resonate with contemporary audiences.

Ansel Adams Images in Australia

On the other hand, it’s virtually impossible to overstate the influence that Californian creative Ansel Adams had on the world of photography. The landscape photographer and environmentalist’s vivid black-and-white images of the American West have become part of the creative zeitgeist; a pseudo-framework for the modern photographer. In fact, the Ansel Adams Zone System of exposure and development for black-and-white film photography is still taught in schools today.

Reflecting a powerful but complicated story of colonial ambition, Adams’ images have transcended the art form and helped to play a significant role in the preservation of many American wilderness areas.

For Australian Adams fans, the exhibition marks a rare opportunity to see the influential landscape photographer’s work up close. Despite their global appeal, Adams’ images of the American West have been rarely shown Down Under. In ‘Max Dupain and Ansel Adams: In Search of Perfection’, the Californian photographer’s 1960 image ‘Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California’ will be on display.

A visceral illustration of human insignificance against nature, the scene depicts the rugged face of a tall, sheer rock formation. Perched just above its lip sits the moon. Adams captured the image while on a drive toward the Ahwahnee Hotel in 1960 using his favoured Hasselblad camera, and while he may have taken several images of the moon over Yosemite, this specific example stands tall.

“I have photographed Half Dome innumerable times, but it is never the same Half Dome, never the same light or the same mood,“ he famously said of the image. “The many images I have made reflect my varied creative responses to this remarkable granite monolith.“

‘Max Dupain and Ansel Adams: In Search of Perfection’ will tour the National Gallery in March 2026. Presented as part of the Bowness Family Foundation Photography Touring Program, the event is free to attend and features a collection of approximately 50 black-and-white images.