Erwin E. Smith
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
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A cowpuncher mounted on a gray horse standing outside an adobe building, holding his pack animal with him. The Bar W was near Carrizoza, New Mexico, west of Roswell. Bar W Ranch, New Mexico., 1908
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.287
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A cowpuncher mounted on his white horse. Spur Ranch, Texas., ca. 1908-1910
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.209
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A cowpuncher of the LS cutting calves out from the main herd. LS Ranch, Texas., 1907
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.103
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A cowpuncher roping out his mount for the day from the remuda (band of horses). A cowboy's string consists of at least six riding horses for making a trail drive or roundup. Spur Ranch, Texas., 1909
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.164
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A cowpuncher's mount "tied to the ground" near the Wichita River, Texas. Turkey Track Ranch, Texas., 1906
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.010
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A cowpuncher's mount 'tied to the ground' near the Wichita River, Texas., 1906
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin silver print
P1986.42.189.24
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A coyote lying in tall grass, typical of the wild animal that roamed the Texas prairie around the turn of the century., 1908-1912
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.846
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A coyote trapped at the carcass of a range critter. Three Circles Ranch, Texas., 1906
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.206
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A coyote trapped at the carcass of a range critter. Three Circles Ranch, Texas., 1906
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.215
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A coyote trapped at the TC Ranch; carcass of a range critter., 1906
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin silver print
P1986.42.189.6
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A coyote typical of the wild animal that roamed the Texas prairie around the turn of the century., 1908-1912
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.844
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A coyote typical of the wild animal that roamed the Texas prairie around the turn of the century., 1908-1912
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.845
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A Cross-B cowboy [Frank Smith] branding a maverick in the open range with a ring branding iron. Cross-B Ranch, Texas., 1909
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.420
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A Cross-B cowboy [Frank Smith] branding a maverick in the open range, with a ring branding iron. Cross-B Ranch, Texas., 1909
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.254
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A Cross-B cowboy [Frank Smith] branding in the open., 1909
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.545
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A Cross-B cowpuncher [Frank Smith] branding a maverick in the open range with a ring branding iron, Cross B Ranch, Texas, 1909
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.488
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A cutting horse and rider "holding" a calf while another cowpuncher flanks it down. Two more cutters are working the herd. Spur Range, Texas., 1909
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.140
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A Dash for Liberty, 1908
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin silver print
P1990.16.3
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A day herder keeping an eye on the grazing herd. LS Ranch, Texas., 1907
Erwin E. Smith
Nitrate negative
LC.S59.065
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A day herder of the OR having a bite to eat at the chuck wagon. OR Range, Arizona., 1909
Erwin E. Smith
Gelatin dry plate negative
LC.S6.253