Meet Ansel Adams' granddaughter Meet Ansel Adams' granddaughter (January 30, 2004)

by Jeb Bing

W hen Sylvia Desin moved to Pleasanton six years ago into Pleasanton's oldest house, she kept a little secret that only her family and close friends knew about: She's the granddaughter of Ansel Adams, the legendary photographer who died 20 years ago. Today, thanks to her, a selected collection of his best works are on exhibit at the Museum On Main Street, on loan from the museum in Carmel where she and others in the Adams family keep his photographs. Desin is proud of her heritage but wanted to maintain a lower profile than she'd had in her previous Orange County home, where she was often questioned and asked to speak about her famous grandfather. So when she and her husband Greg moved here in 1998, they put their energies into raising their two children and into their careers. He's a mechanical engineer who commutes to San Jose and she is a Realtor with Hometown GMAC. They also focused on restoring their historic home, which is located in the downtown district and was built in the 1860s by Dr. Herbert Harms, whose dental office was located on Main Street.

But her "little secret" got out in a conversation with local architect Charles Huff, who had been hired to remodel the kitchen for their 140-year-old home. Learning that they are both Cal Poly graduates, they shared their interests in history and the arts, which is when she told him about her grandfather. Huff, a board member of the Museum On Main Street who is always on the prowl for new exhibits, left that day not only with the kitchen remodeling contract but also a pledge that Desin would arrange for a three-month loan of the photographs, an exhibit that has drawn record crowds since its opening Jan. 16. The exhibit will close April 24.

Describing herself as anyone but a public speaker, Desin also bowed to Huff's persuasive skills to take a few minutes to talk to museum patrons about Ansel Adams, his work and his family. Her 60-slide presentation last week was a sell-out performance and she has now agreed to talk one more time - next Thursday evening. With more than 140 already registered, the presentation has been moved out of the museum to the Alisal Elementary School auditorium. Admission is $5 and tickets must be ordered in advance at the museum or by calling 462-2766.

Even though Ansel Adams was critically acclaimed starting in 1927, when he produced his first albums of Yosemite photographs, Desin knew him only as "one of the best grandfathers anyone could have." She remembers him as a big-hearted man who, while not big in stature, would fill the room with stories about his trips in the High Sierra, Yosemite, Yellowstone and Taos. She had her first chance to see him at work and to learn of his professional fame when he invited her on a trip to Europe. Even with all of the public functions they attended, though, Desin said her grandfather seldom put down his Hasselblad, shooting 72 rolls of film in that one-month trip. Adams and his wife Virginia, who died four years ago, moved to Carmel in 1962. Although none of his two children or five grandchildren followed him into photography ("It's not a genetic trait," Desin says), his daughter Anne Adams Helms, who is Desin's mother, runs the family publishing company, Museum Graphics. Posters, notecards and postcards can be ordered through this firm at www.museumgraphics.com.

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