Robert Adams: Three Friends, Three Perspectives gathers Mitch Epstein, Jeffrey Fraenkel, and Sarah Greenough to reflect on Adams’s work and character. Recalling encounters with his photographs fifty years ago, they consider the shock of his human-altered landscapes and how his rigor, independence, and integrity shaped their view of photography.
Sarah Greenough – Mitch Epstein and Jeffrey Fraenkel
About the speakers
American photographer Mitch Epstein is a pioneer of fine-art color photography of the 1970s. For fifty years, he has photographed the landscapes and culture of the United States. In 2026, the National Gallery of Art acquired his archive of over 1,250 prints. His distinctions include the Prix Pictet, the Berlin Prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship. His books include American Power and Family Business.
American gallerist Jeffrey Fraenkel founded Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco in 1979. The gallery represents leading artists and estates, including Diane Arbus, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Robert Adams and Carrie Mae Weems. Since its founding, it has presented nearly 400 exhibitions and published more than 60 books, including The Eye Club, Edward Hopper & Company and The Plot Thickens.
Sarah Greenough was Head of the Department of Photographs at the National Gallery of Art in Washington until her retirement in 2026. She joined the museum in 1978 and became the department’s founding curator in 1990, developing its collection and exhibition program. She has curated numerous exhibitions, including those on Alfred Stieglitz, Robert Frank and Sally Mann, and authored several major publications on the history of photography.
Robert Adams, Pikes Peak Park, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1969 – Courtesy of Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
Other visuals
- Portrait – Mitch Epstein
- Portrait – Jeffrey Fraenkel
- Portrait – Sarah Greenough