Ansel Adams : Grandson Says 'Lost' Negatives Aren't Real

A California man bought a collection of glass negatives at a garage sale says they have  been authenticated as lost works of Ansel Adams, but the famed photographer's grandson isn't so sure.

"I think it's irresponsible to claim that they're Ansel's," Matthew Adams said. "We think it's a very significant claim and we think it's not accurate."

After six months of study, experts concluded the 65 negatives were early works by Ansel Adams - and worth $200 million, according to an attorney for Rick Norsigian, a Fresno man who bought them at a garage sale for $45. The black-and-white images of Yosemite National Park's dramatic landscape recall some of Ansel Adam's most famous works. But Matthew Adams says they were probably not made by his grandfather , who died in 1984.

Matthew Adams disputes a claim that photographs , shown here at a news conference , Wednesday  made from glass plate negatives are not the works of his grandfather. He said he has seen the handwriting on the negatives - which was a key factor in authenticating the work - and is sure that the writing is not that of Virginia Adams, the wife of the famed artist.
"The handwriting that they are claiming is Virginia's , is not," Matthew Adams said.

Matthew Adams, president of the Ansel Adams gallery in Yosemite, says the writing on the negatives is filled with mis-spelling of famous sites in the national park that his grandmother , who grew up in Yosemite, would have known how to spell.

"On one of the negatives for example, Bridalveil Fall" a well know waterfall in the park, is spelled "Bridalvail Fall." Adams says it's a mistake his grandmother never would have made.
 "There's no way that an intelligent, articulate woman, 33 years old, who had lived there all her life, would mis-spell that," he said.
Adams finds it unlikely that his grandfather, who was meticulous about his work, would have lost track of the negatives. And he said the series isn't labelled using the negative-numbering  system his grandfather devised for his negatives.
 Art dealer david W. Streets , who is featuring  the prints in his Beverly Hills gallery,said. "Without a shadow of a doubt , it's Ansel Adams's work."
Streets said the negatives are particularly important because  they show the evolution of Adams as an artist.
 "It  truly is a missing link of Ansel Adams history  and his career."

Rick Norsigian, the painter who bought the negatives at a garage sale in 2000, has spent years trying to prove that they are the work of Ansel Adams. Streets says the Adams  family has been asked over the last 10 years to take part in the  authentication process but declined. The family of the renowned photographer , has shown "little or no interest" in the negatives.

"I'm very sad that the family has chosen not to participate," Streets said, "The whole point is to show the lost work of Ansel Adams," he said.

But the photographer's grandson is unconviniced . He called the $200 million price tag that has been attached to the images "ludicrous." 

"How they arrived at $200 million for negatives that 'might' have been made by Ansel Adams is beyond me," he said in a statement.
 Great find if they really are Adams originals. They may sell for a bit less but who's counting?

My spin : Will be watching this one closely...so come back ya hear.

Kicking back and keeping it real............