This exhibition focuses on a collection of 48 photographs by Adams, a selection he made late in his life to serve as a succinct representation of what he deemed the best work of his career. Called “The Museum Set,” the featured photographs reveal the importance Adams placed on the awe-inspiring power and beauty of the natural world. Included are many of his most iconic images of majestic American landscapes, such as El Capitan and Half Dome in Yosemite National Park; the Golden Gate in San Francisco; Monument Valley in Arizona; and the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. 

The exhibition was organized by the Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Redding, California. Exhibition tour management by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, California. In Raleigh this exhibition is made possible, in part, by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources; the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation, Inc.; and the William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment for Educational Exhibitions. Research for this exhibition was made possible by Ann and Jim Goodnight/The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fund for Curatorial and Conservation Research and Travel.