Interior Dept. unveils new Ansel Adams photos

(Courtesy of National Archives)

The Interior Department and National Park Foundation on Wednesday will put on permanent display 26 previously unseen prints of selected Ansel Adams photographs.

In 1941, Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes commissioned the famed photographer to capture images of ground managed by the department, including parks, forests and Indian reservations. The project was canceled in 1942 as the government shifted funds to support operations for World War II, according to a department spokeswoman.

The image above is of Grand Teton National Park and the Snake River in Wyoming, photographed at some point between Oct. 1941 and July 1942.

The original images are in the possession of the National Archives, but the displayed prints will hang on the first and second floors of the Interior Department at 1849 C St. N.W., which is open to the public during normal business hours.