{"id":823023,"date":"2026-05-26T10:08:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T10:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/823023\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T10:08:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T10:08:17","slug":"nyc-gallery-says-it-has-every-right-to-create-ai-version-of-iconic-ansel-adams-photo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/823023\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC Gallery Says it Has ‘Every Right’ to Create AI Version of Iconic Ansel Adams Photo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AJames Danziger of the Danziger Gallery says he spent months creating this colorized version of Ansel Adams\u2019 Moonrise photo and claims he has a right to do it. <\/p>\n

The owner of the Danziger Gallery has released a statement defending his actions after putting an AI-generated version of Ansel Adams\u2019 Moonrise on sale at The Photography Show in New York. <\/p>\n

PetaPixel reported yesterday<\/a> that the Ansel Adams Publishing Right Trust put out a statement over the weekend making clear that it \u201cdid not authorize, endorse, consent to, or acquiesce in the \u2018AI-generated color version\u2019 of Moonrise presented by Danziger Gallery at AIPAD.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rather than this being about the AI tools used by Danziger, the Adams Trust says it\u2019s \u201cfundamentally about artists\u2019 rights and moral rights.\u201d Adding that, \u201cno one should trade on another person\u2019s name, reputation, and labor for private commercial benefit without consent and candor.\u201d <\/p>\n

Public Domain <\/p>\n

But in a statement<\/a> released last night, James Danziger says he has \u201cevery right to create a new and transformative work\u201d since the Adams\u2019 Moonrise photo, taken on November 1, 1941, has passed into the public domain. <\/p>\n

\u201cI had long believed the image was in the public domain but to confirm this beyond doubt, I hired one of the most respected copyright lawyers in the country to ensure [sic] this was the case,\u201d Danziger writes defiantly. \u201cIt was indeed confirmed to be in the public domain and I was free to create a transformative color rendition of the image and to exhibit and sell the resulting prints.\u201d <\/p>\n

Danziger says he generated the AI image out of his \u201clove\u201d of the iconic image, adding he wanted to \u201ccreate an imagining of what Adams saw in real life as he was driving along U.S. Highway 84 that made him stop his Pontiac station wagon and scramble to set up his bulky 8\u00d710 view cameras as the sun was setting on the adobe church and cemetery crosses while the moon appeared through the clouds.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"AThe tag that was displayed alongside Danziger\u2019s AI image at AIPAD. <\/p>\n

Danziger adds that AI served as the starting point but says the image was worked on for \u201cmonths,\u201d with humans editing, proofing, and refining it. \u201cMy goal was to create an image that felt visually convincing and compelling on its own terms while remaining grounded in admiration for the original photograph,\u201d he says. \u201cAs far as I was concerned, I would only show or sell the image if I felt it was perfect.\u201d <\/p>\n

Despite the criticism made by both the Ansel Adams Trust and the general photo community, Danziger says that \u201cgiven both the public domain status of Moonrise and the transformative nature of my exercise, it was clear I had the right to create a new work.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cPublic domain works have long served as foundations for reinterpretation, experimentation, and new creative dialogue across generations of artists,\u201d he adds. <\/p>\n

Danziger ends his statement by quoting Adams himself, who, in 1983, expressed frustration at film-color limitations. \u201cThe scope of control with the electronic image has not been explored, but I feel confident astonishing developments await us in this area,\u201d Adams said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Is Moonrise in the Public Domain? <\/p>\n

Adams\u2019 famous photo, Moonrise, taken in Hernandez, New Mexico, in 1941, is available from Wikipedia<\/a> in high-resolution.<\/p>\n

\"BlackMoonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico (1941) by Ansel Adams.<\/p>\n

A note states that the photograph was \u201cfirst published in 1942, when Adams gave a print to the Museum of Modern Art and it was published in U.S. Camera, 1943.\u201d Therefore, the note explains, the copyright would \u201chave to have been renewed in 1968, 1969, or 1970.\u201d No such renewal exists in the Stanford Copyright Renewals Database. <\/p>\n