Ansel Adams’ Trust Says AI-Colorized Version Of His Work Was Exhibited Without Permission

The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust released a statement this weekend condemning the unauthorized use of the photographer’s name and work for the creation of an “AI-generated color version” of Adams’ “Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico.” According to the trust, the piece was up for sale last month at the Association of International Photography Art Dealers’ (AIPAD) The Photography Show. The exhibit by Danziger Gallery “exploited Ansel’s name, reputation, and his most iconic image, while failing to identify any human artist responsible for its creation,” the statement says.

Interestingly, the trust didn’t take issue with the involvement of AI, noting that Adams “was remarkably prescient about—and excited by—the potential of computers to transform photography.” The issue is that the exhibitor allegedly just straight up ripped off the artist’s work to make money off of it.

“The Trust was not consulted or notified before the work appeared,” the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust said. “Once alerted, we reached out to James Danziger in real time, notifying him of the Trust’s rights, and asking for the work to be removed. Correspondence shared with the Trust shows that, despite our formal notice, Mr. Danziger subsequently leveraged Ansel’s name, ‘Moonrise,’ and the AIPAD presentation while pursuing a proposed commercial AI colorization venture involving other artists’ estates.” The statement goes on to denounce the nonconsensual use of an artist’s name and work for commercial purposes, calling the incident “a gross failure of ethical and professional judgment.”