Ansel Adams Exhibit at AMA Draws Record Crowd
By Reginald Lewis - Office of Communication
Posted on August 11, 2014, August 11, 2014

Ansel Adams Exhibit at AMA Draws Record Crowd

A record-breaking number of people flocked to an Ansel Adams exhibition in Arlington, featuring works by the greatest landscape photographer of the 20th century.

More than 10,800 people from as far away as New Zealand visited the Arlington Museum of Art's Ansel Adams: Masterworks exhibit, making it the most popular display ever at the museum.

The three-month exhibit featured 48 photographs that Adams considered to be his best work. Adams printed the images before his death.

According to Chris Hightower, executive director for Arlington Museum of Art (AMA), this exhibit was so popular, it brought visitors from all over the world including 225 Texas cities, 244 U.S. cities and 35 international cities.

"One gentleman listened to KERA's Art and Seek online because he lives in Ontario (Canada) and heard about it; he flew in specifically to see this exhibit."

Hightower went on to say a majority of the visitors, many of whom are photographers themselves, wanted to pay homage to the great American photographer. Lectures held in conjunction with the exhibit also drew record crowds.

The exhibit was made possible in part thanks to a $35,000 grant from the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation.

Not only was the Adams exhibit a huge boost for the museum's business from May through August, but it has heightened the museum's profile.

So how does AMA sustain the momentum?

"Although finding the right appeal for future exhibits that we offer is a challenge because we want to give people something that they haven't seen before, I think we have a good one planned for next year."

A smaller exhibit, "Imprinting the West," opens September 6 and runs through October 20.

Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; and Sundays 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for students and seniors citizens. Museum members and children younger than 12 and under are admitted free.

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