Photograph - Two Montana Cowboys - Fallon, Montana

EVELYN J. CAMERON

Publication: Evelyn J Cameron, Photographer, n d (ca 1912), Fallon, MT

Cabinet Card. Unmounted, silver gelatin photograph [13 cm x 18 cm] / [5" x 7"]. Nice condition. Sharp view of two cowboys sitting atop their horses with cattle in the background. Evelyn Jephson Flower (1868-1928) was born August 26, 1868, near Streatham, England. The Flower family was tied to England's elite, her half-brother Cyril Flower became Lord Battersea in 1892. Evelyn and Ewen Cameron were married in the fall of 1889 and spent their honeymoon in Montana. Both were avid hunters and were lured to Montana by English magazines that boasted of the abundant wildlife, the ease of living on the plains, and the fiscal rewards of polo pony raising. The Camerons moved to Montana in 1893 and established the Eve ranch near Terry to breed and train polo ponies. Evelyn Cameron, in addition to her work on the ranch, took a keen interest in photography. In 1894 she purchased her first camera, and learned basic photographic techniques from one of her boarders. Photography served many purposes for Evelyn, it relieved some of the loneliness of living on the plains, provided much needed income, allowed her to work with Ewen on his wildlife studies, and provided an avenue for meeting and learning about her neighbors. She was especially fascinated with the strength and perseverance of the Russian-German immigrants. Her photographs captured the experiences of men and women on the plains of Eastern Montana in starkly vivid and candid terms. Cowboys, women, ranchers, farmers, children, itinerant workers, sheep herders, and the stark landscape all found their way into her photos. Her work was carried in magazines throughout the country. Unlike Ewen, whose wildlife interests took him farther and farther from the ranch, Evelyn was fascinated with the ranching lifestyle. Fine copy.

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