Ansel Adams trust sues Rick Norsigian

26 August 2010

"Jeffrey Pine on Sentinel Rock" is from a glass plate negative discovered at a garage sale by Rick Norsigian. He believes it is the work of Ansel Adams.

The Fresno, Calif., man who says he bought a stack of glass-plate negatives created by Ansel Adams at a garage sale for $45 is being sued by the famed nature photographer's trust.

Rick Norsigian assembled a team of various specialists, although none are known photography experts, to authenticate his find. An appraiser on his panel estimated the 65 images of Yosemite and the California coast to be worth up to $200 million, including merchandising endeavors such as the prints that Norsigian is selling on his website.

The photographer's heirs and the Ansel Adams Publishing Trust have publicly denounced Norsigian's claim that the negatives are long-lost works of Adams. They filed the lawsuit on Monday to stop the sale of prints.

Norsigian's lawyer told the AP that the suit is designed to harass his client.

Read more at LA Times blog

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