Famous Art for the Pandemic – & Celebrating the Simple Things in Life

Update 03 July 2025: This post was initially published during the 2020/2021 COVID pandemic. As an art history professor, world traveler and lover of great art and art museums, I set out to connect famous art with what was going on in the world around us. First posted on Face Book, it moved into the creation of this website. Click here for additional postings on a Year in the Life of the Pandemic.

The pandemic also gave us time to pause and enjoy the simpler things in life, including nature all around us. This included a spectacular full moon we experienced that summer!

“Moon & Half Dome, Yosemite National Park”

Ansel Adams, American, Photography, 1960

Full moon! National Parks!  = Ansel Adams!  This favorite photo reminds me of that spectacular full moon we had this past July 4^th weekend—Wow!—and our national parks—top summer vacation destinations.  

I totally admire Adam’s ability to capture both the moon and the night sky with detail, clarity and precision—having personally never succeeded in my attempts to photograph either one!  In this unique Summer of 2020, news reports tell of record numbers of Americans taking road trips and flocking to state and national parks, much as it was during the mid-20^th century following a half-century of wars. 

With his iconic images of US national parks, Adams put these destinations on the minds and itineraries of Americans yearning to get out, travel and explore America.  He was known for his black/white images of the American West and his persistent advocacy for environmentalism and promoting conservation of wilderness areas.  His photographs created a public awareness of and support for the expansion of our national park system and also helped establish photography among the fine arts; for his accomplishments, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980.

TRAVEL TIP: Consider a vacation at one of the USA’s fabulous national parks for your next road trip. And, the next time you visit a national park, pause, look at the beauty—take a photograph—and thank Ansel Adams! 

For a look at more of his work, I recommend going to The Ansel Adams Gallery anseladams.com , a commercial site (ignore the prices!), but full of quality images of his best work on all subjects.  

Did you enjoy this post? Thanks for sharing a “LIKE” below – and add an encouraging comment – to continue to inspire me in my posts. Thanks! ~Cher

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