donohuecollection

Portrait of Phyllis Donohue by Ansel Adams, published in "The Print" (figure 7-10, page 158)

Phyllis Donohue, "one of the finest people I have known."

- Ansel Adams, An Autobiography

Phyllis Donohue was born in Surrey, England. She grew up in New Zealand and began work as a photographic production assistant while still a teenager. After moving to San Francisco in 1947, she married Frank Donohue. When he accepted a position as a librarian at the Naval Postgraduate School, the couple moved to Monterey in 1966. In 1968, Brett Weston hired Phyllis for one week as a spotting (retouching) assistant. When Weston’s project was complete, he was so impressed with her skills and attention to detail that he recommended Phyllis to Ansel Adams, who was also looking for a professional spotter. Phyllis would work for the next twenty years as Adams’ master spotter and production assistant.

Phyllis’ principle duties were spotting and print preparation, but she also assisted in the darkroom and observed Ansel was meticulous in refining each print - making test prints, while varying timing, filters and dodging patterns until he achieved the result he wanted. One task assigned to Phyllis was the cataloging of Ansel Adams negatives. The most famous negatives had been placed and dated, but there were countless others with no documentation. Phyllis assembled a diary log of all Adams’ travels over the decades, and then assigned dates and locations to every negative.

Over twenty years, Ansel Adams would often give Phyllis a photograph to mark special celebratory events like birthdays and holidays. He also inscribed personal dedications to Phyllis on many of the photographs. She treasured these photographs for their association with what was the happiest working period of her life, and protectively stored her twenty-two original photographs for thirty years until her death in the summer of 2018.

This memorial exhibition, in remembrance of Phyllis Donohue’s life and work, is the first time her personal collection of twenty-two Ansel Adams photographs has been shared with the public. The exhibition is open Thursday through Monday from 11am until 5pm: December 14, 2018 - February 1, 2019.

15 x 19 inch original gelatin silver photograph handmade by Ansel Adams in 1979. Excellent condition.

15 x 19 inch original gelatin silver photograph handmade by Ansel Adams in the late 1970's. Excellent condition.

20x24 inch original gelatin silver photograph handmade by Ansel Adams in the early 1970's. Excellent condition.

15 x 19 inch original gelatin silver photograph handmade by Ansel Adams in the early 1970s. Excellent condition.

15 x 19 inch original gelatin silver photograph handmade by Ansel Adams in 1980. Excellent condition.

15 x 19 inch vintage original gelatin silver photograph handmade by Ansel Adams in the early 1970's. Excellent condition.

15 x 19 inch original gelatin silver photograph handmade by Ansel Adams in the early 1970's. Excellent condition.

15 x 19 inch original gelatin silver photograph handmade by Ansel Adams in the early 1970s

15 x 19 inch original gelatin silver photograph handmade by Ansel Adams in the late 1970's

15x19 inch original gelatin silver photograph handmade by Ansel Adams in the late 1960's - early 1970's

15 x 19 inch original gelatin silver photograph handmade by Ansel Adams in the early 1970s

15x19 inch original gelatin silver photograph handmade by Ansel Adams in August 1978

15 x 19 inch original gelatin silver photograph handmade by Ansel Adams in the early 1970's

15x19 inch original gelatin silver photograph handmade by Ansel Adams in December 1977

Jim McHugh, Portrait of Ansel Adams signing Museum Set with Phyllis Donohue, 1981

Ansel Adams

The Donohue Collection