Barbara Van Cleve (American, b. 1935). "Romance Makers" photograph, 1989. Signed in pencil at lower right. Titled in pencil at lower left. Numbered "9" in pencil at lower center. A fabulous black and white photograph capturing an episode of ranch life with cowboys moving cattle on the land by Barbara Van Cleve. Born and raised in Montana on the Lazy K Bar Ranch beneath the Crazy Mountains, Van Cleve has shot photographs on horseback, traveling from Montana to New Mexico, chronicling the ranchers' way of life she has known since childhood. Van Cleve shot on horseback, because she aimed to give the viewer that privileged vantage point, as if we too are on horseback taking in all the action of ranch life, watching cowboys move cattle toward the corrals as the animals kick up dust from the earth and the sun glows early in the morning. Through her photography, Van Cleve shares the ranchers' commitment to preserve this way of life. Size of photograph: 18.625" L x 12.5" W (47.3 cm x 31.8 cm) Size of frame: 28.2" L x 22.25" W (71.6 cm x 56.5 cm)

Van Cleve's words capture the beauty that she sees in the Montana landscape, even in simple, oftentimes overlooked details, such as the dust kicked up by the animals. "To see the dust. So many people think of dust as just dirt, you know, airborne dirt, but it isn't. It's a wonderful diffusion screen for the light. It softens things; it outlines things; it indicates a direction of where either horses or cattle are moving in this vast landscape of ours. And that's part of everything that I'd like people to see and that I try to make them see through my photographs." ("Capturing Grace: A Portrait of Barbara Van Cleve," 1993)

Artist Biographical Statement: "Barbara Van Cleve’s heritage is rich with family history and firsthand experience. Her family’s ranch, the Lazy K Bar, was founded in 1880 on the east slopes of the Crazy Mountains near Melville, Montana. As a photographer, she has held a camera since she was 11 years old when her parents gave her a 'Brownie' camera and a home developing kit. Her youthful interest in photography soon grew into a lifelong commitment. Ranch work also began early for Barbara. Barely six, she could be found helping at the corrals or sitting astride a horse. Ever since she has been documenting the 'true grit' and romantic beauty of her experiences on the ranch and on other ranches in the West. Along the way, she earned an MA in English Literature at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois; she has been a Dean of Women at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois; and she taught English Literature, and later photography, for over 25 winters at DePaul University, Loyola University and Mundelein College, all in the Chicago area. At the same time photography continued to be a passionate avocation. In her free time, she worked for Rand McNally as a textbook photographer and also established her own stock photography agency. The long summers were usually spent on the family ranch in Montana. She moved to Santa Fe in late 1980 to concentrate on photography full time and had her first major exhibition in the fall of 1985. Since that time she has had over 60 one-person shows and has been in over 100 group shows. Her work is in public and private collections in the United States as well as internationally. Her photography has been published in Roughstock Sonnets, (with poetry by Paul Zarzyski), Way Out West, and Cowboys: A Horseback Heritage. KOAT-TV, an ABC affiliate in Albuquerque, New Mexico produced and aired a thirty-minute video documentary, 'Barbara Van Cleve: Capturing Grace', in 1993. In the Fall, 1995 her book, 'Hard Twist: Western Ranch Women' was published by Museum of New Mexico Press, and she was inducted into the Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. 'All This Way for the Short Ride' (with poet Paul Zarzyski) was published by the Museum of New Mexico Press in 1997. 'Holding the Reins' written by Marc Talbert and illustrated with her photographs about ranch girls was published by Harper Collins in February 2003. She moved back to Big Timber, Montana, her home town, where she has her studio and is close to the family ranch. Her most recent book, 'Pure Quill' published in 2016, encompasses her remarkable photographic career including a generous selection of photographs and the stories behind them." (artist's website)

Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010

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#174635

Signed in pencil at lower right. Titled in pencil at lower left. Numbered "9" in pencil at lower center. Mounted in custom frame under plexiglass. Photo has not been examined outside the frame but appears to be in excellent condition. Frame has a few minor scuffs but is otherwise very good and fit with a suspension wire.