The Big Room at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, photograph by Ansel Adams courtesy the Department of the Interior. Cool news for Ansel Adams fans here in D.C.: the U.S. Department of the Interior has installed 26 never-before displayed photographic murals taken by the famed American photographer. The images are now on display on the first and second floors of the department’s headquarters, located at 1849 C Street NW.
The murals were originally commissioned back in 1941, specifically for display inside the Interior building, by then-Interior Secretary Harold Ickes. But when World War II broke out, the department abruptly canceled the project and never installed the photographs. Current Secretary Ken Salazar later decided to complete the project, and unveiled them at a reception Wednesday night.
Some of the iconic sites depicted in the murals include the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Saguaro National Monument and the Boulder Dam. You can view all 26 of the images here.
D.C. hasn’t exactly been suffering for a lack of Ansel Adams exhibits of late. The Corcoran hosted a large solo exhibition in 2007, and the American Art Museum paired Adams’ work with Georgia O’Keefe’s in 2008.