The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust publicly condemned Danziger Gallery for exhibiting and offering for sale an AI-generated artwork at the 2026 AIPAD Photography Show in New York. The untitled piece, described as a color version of Adams' iconic photograph "Moonrise Over Hernandez," was printed by master printer Esteban Mauchi and displayed alongside works by Seydou Keïta, Hoda Afshar, and Matthew Porter. The trust stated it did not authorize or endorse the work, accused the gallery of exploiting Adams' name and reputation, and noted that Danziger did not remove the piece after being contacted. The gallery has not commented publicly.
The dispute highlights growing tensions between artists' rights and the use of generative AI to replicate or reinterpret iconic works. The trust framed the issue as fundamentally about moral rights and respect for human dignity, not opposition to AI itself. Prominent photographers including Pete Souza and David Hume Kennerly voiced support for the trust, with Kennerly asserting that Adams would have opposed the appropriation. This incident follows a similar 2024 conflict in which the trust publicly challenged Adobe over AI-generated images labeled "Ansel Adams-Style Photography" in its stock catalogue, leading Adobe to remove the content.