Flight of Fancy... Off for the Sabbot (1927) by William Mortensen (United States, 1897-1965) In a roll call of the pioneers of modern photography, one name is never invoked. From the late 1920s to the 1950s, William Mortensen was one of the most famous and celebrated photographers in America. However, his subject matter – which veered towards the savage, indecorous, gothic and grotesque – as well as his use of montage and illustration, made him a pariah among the puritanical new guard in photography, led by Ansel Adams, who tried to write him out of history, and even called him "The Antichrist".  Mortensen’s methods often made it hard to distinguish whether the results were photographs or not.