Creator Details
Growing up in Bonham, Texas, Erwin Smith knew he wanted to be a cowboy and an artist. The era of great trail drives was ending, and he was determined to document the open-range lifestyle before it disappeared completely. Smith gained experience by working on ranches and studying painting and sculpting at art schools in Chicago and Boston before he realized that the photographs he used as preliminary studies were works of art themselves. Between 1905 and the mid-1920s, he photographed ranch work and life in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, producing some of the best-known images of early 20th-century cowboy activities. The Carter holds about 150 prints by Smith, many gifted by Smith’s half-sister, Mary Alice Pettis, as well as 2,000 negatives on permanent deposit from the Library of Congress.
Artworks
-
"Stretching" an "outlaw" steer to prevent injury to the cowpunchers while they doctor, or hobble, and release it with the herd. An "outlaw" may be tamed in this manner. Matador Ranch, Texas., 1909
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.178
-
"Stretching" an "outlaw" steer to prevent injury to the cowpunchers while they doctor, or hobble, it before releasing it with the herd. Matador Ranch, Texas., 1905-1910
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.203
-
"The Sole Requirement." n.d., n.d.
Erwin E. Smith
Erwin E. Smith Papers
-
"Uncle Harve" [Norris], Famous Wagon Boss of the JA (John Adair) Outfit, with Tents of Roundup Camp in Background, JA Ranch, Texas, 1908
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.004
-
"V # Branding Pens." n.d., n.d.
Erwin E. Smith
Erwin E. Smith Papers
-
"Waking a Night Rider," Three Block Range, New Mexico, 1908-1909
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.237
-
"Waking a Night Rider." This duty of the early day cowpuncher, like many others, went out of practice with the coming of barbed wire and large pastures for holding the herd. [The "sleeping" cowboy is George Patullo.] Three Block Ranch, New Mexico., 1908-1909
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.239
-
"Waking a night rider." This duty of the early day cowpuncher, like many others, went out of practice with the coming of the barbed wire and the closing of the free range. Before then, each man took his turn at holding the herd. [The "sleeping" cowboy is, 1908-1909
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.186
-
(Bringing in firewood.) Shoe Bar Ranch, Texas., 1912
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.379
-
4 Cowboys - 2 standing. [Three Circle foreman standing far left, Edwin Sanders mounted in front of white packhorse. Three Circle Ranch, Texas.], 1906
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.208
-
A baby posed on a Shetland pony on the OR Ranch near the Arizona-Mexico border. OR Ranch, Arizona., 1909
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.344
-
A Bad Sign, Matador Ranch, Texas, 1905
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.332
-
A Bad Sign, Matador Ranch, Texas, 1905
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin silver print
P1986.42.117
-
A Bad Sign, Matador Ranch, Texas, 1905
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin silver print
P1986.42.189.11
-
A Bar Diamond Bar cowboy tightening up the cinch of his saddle. Bar Diamond Bar Ranch, Texas. [Actually Bonham, Texas], 1906-1907
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.198
-
A Block cowboy working with an angry cow. Three Block Ranch, near Richardson, New Mexico., 1908-1909
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.254
-
A branding chute showing the method developed for branding animals without throwing them to the ground. This device squeezed the animal firmly enough to hold it still while the hot iron was applied. Shoe Bar Ranch, Texas., 1912
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.387
-
A calf so young it is following a horse looking for its mother, while the mounted cowboy is tolling it out of the herd to get it out of the way. Shoe Bar Ranch, Texas., 1912
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.297
-
A cattle chute showing methods developed for branding and dipping cattle. Shoe Bar Ranch, Texas., 1912
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.386
-
A chuck wagon and hoodlum wagon on the move. JA Ranch, Texas., 1908
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.167