William A. Anders
Mission: Apollo-Saturn 8, December 21–27, 1968: Earthrise, the planet Earth seen rising above the surface of the moon, by Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders the first men to orbit the moon.

Mission: Apollo-Saturn 8, December 21–27, 1968: Earthrise, the planet Earth seen rising above the surface of the moon, by Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders the first men to orbit the moon.

Public Domain

ExpandFavorite

Artist William A. AndersAmerican, born 1933

Artist Frank BormanAmerican, born 1928

Artist James A. Lovell, Jr.American, born 1928

Printer Dennis Ivy American, born 1953

CultureAmerican

Titles

Mission: Apollo-Saturn 8, December 21–27, 1968: Earthrise, the planet Earth seen rising above the surface of the moon, by Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders the first men to orbit the moon.
from the portfolio NASA: A Quarter Century of Space Exploration

DateDecember 21–27, 1968, printed 1991

Place depictedMoon

MediumDye imbibition print

DimensionsImage: 19 7/8 × 19 1/2 in. (50.5 × 49.5 cm)
Sheet: 22 3/16 × 20 11/16 in. (56.4 × 52.5 cm)
Mat: 29 15/16 × 26 in. (76 × 66 cm)

Credit LineThe Target Collection of American Photography, museum purchase funded by Target Stores

Object number93.199.25

Not on view

Explore Further

Department

Photography

Special Collections

Target Collection of American Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

DescriptionAnders: “There’s the Earth comin’ up. Wow, is that pretty!...You got a color film, Jim? Hand me a roll of color, quick, would you?”

Lovell: “Oh man, that’s great.”

As they orbited the moon on December 24, 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts became the first
humans to witness the Earth rising above the moon’s stark surface. Their genuine awe at
the sight quickly transformed into excited determination to capture the view on film. Their photograph inspired a new understanding of our planet and its place in the vast and mysterious cosmos.
Provenance[Robert Mann Gallery, New York]; purchased by MFAH, 1993.
Exhibition History"The Moon: 'Houston, Tranquility Base Here. The Eagle Has Landed'," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, September 27, 2009–January 10, 2010.

"Shooting the Moon: Photographs from the Museum's Collection 50 Years after Apollo 11," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 20–September 2, 2019.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Inscription: Inscribed in black ink, lower left corner below image: "28/250"; stamped in black ink with pencil inscriptions [ ] on verso, lower left corner: "THIS DYE TRANSFER IS THE [28] PRINT/ FROM AN EDITION OF [250]. IT WAS MADE/ IN HOUSTON, TEXAS BY DENNIS IVY. [A003]"

Signed in pencil on verso, lower left corner: "Dennis Ivy"

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.