Artwork copyright Kurtis Edward Fishback. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artwork copyright Kurtis Edward Fishback. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission.

Portrait: Ansel Adams, 1992

Kurtis Edward Fishback
(American, born 1942)

Location: Puget Sound Skills Center, Burien

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Portrait: Ansel Adams is a photograph by artist Kurtis Fishback. It captures iconic photographer Ansel Adams relaxing with images of his work in the background. Fishback took the image in 1980. It is part of his long-term project documenting important American artists, which he began in 1979. He notes, "It has been my goal to document these artists as human beings first with an eye towards capturing the qualities that gives them the presence consistent with their creative accomplishments. I have included their environment, the space that they create in or about, to help define them as a total entity."

Prints of this photograph are held in many public and private collections. These collections include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Denver Art Museum, and the International Center for Photography, New York.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Highline School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Kurtis Edward Fishback is a California-based artist working in drawing, photography and ceramics. Much of his photographic work focuses on capturing portraits of artists in their studios.

After serving in the Air Force Reserve, Fishback completed an Associate of Arts degree at Sacramento City College. He first learned about photography in his twenties from his father, the well-known photographer Glen Fishback. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (1967) in ceramics from the San Francisco Art Institute and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Davis. He has taught art and art history at several institutions in North Carolina, Utah, and California.