As a teenager, worked as a
cowhand and carried a camera with him to document the lives of
cowboys, presenting as true a portrayal as possible. Of this period,
Smith would say, "As well as I like works of art I don't believe I
would have resorted to art as a profession if it had not been for the
disappearance of Western life which awakened in me a desire to
dedicate my observations, as it is a last resort to recall those
stirring scenes."
In 1904, Smith left
Texas
for
Chicago,
Illinois where he studied sculpture under Lorado Taft. He
also studied under Bella Lyon Pratt in Boston during the early 1900's.
He also studied painting, but, eventually chose photography as his way
to preserve a record of the open-range
cowboy life.
Between 1905 and 1912,
Smith spent his summers photographing on the ranges in
Texas,
New Mexico, and
Arizona, creating a body of work that remains some of the
best of its kind. During this time, he documented ranch owners, trail
bosses, bronc-busters, and day-to-day life of the
cowboy, including
trail drives, roundups, chores, and recreation. Not impressed with
artists and
photographers who exaggerated and romanticized
cowboy
life, he tried to create an authentic record, which accurately
captured the lifestyle, from daily life to clothing, and tools.
In 1908, 40 of his
photographs were shown in Boston, which led to a collaboration with
the Sunday editor of the Boston Herald, George Pattullo, who
wrote western stories that were published in popular magazines and
were accompanied by Smith’s photographs. Two of these included
Saturday Evening Post and Cattleman. Though he was the
first
cowboy
photographer to receive considerable national exposure,
he was only modestly financially successful. In 1912, the Eastman
Kodak Company gave Smith high recognition by using his images to
demonstrate the technical excellence that could be achieved with a
simple box camera.
In 1914 Smith returned to
Texas to start his own ranch. Unfortunately, the ranch failed and he
was bankrupt by 1917. He spent the remainder of his life living
quietly outside of Bonham. However, he continued to use his camera for
the rest of his life. Smith died in Bonham,
Texas on September 4,
1947.
Smith's thousands of not
only show daily ranching life; but also included many group and
individual portraits and to a lesser extent, cowgirls,
African-American
cowboys, Native American wild west show performers
and small town community events.
The Amon Carter Museum of
American Art, in Fort Worth,
Texas, holds the principal collection of
Smith's work.
©
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, October, 2011.
