Join us in this conversation with photographer Barbara Van Cleve on her exhibit, Hard Twist: Western Ranch Women.

Virtual Event (Zoom)

About Barbara Van Cleve:

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.

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. She moved back to Big Timber, Montana, her home town, where she has her studio and is close to the family ranch.

About Hard Twist:

The Eiteljorg’s newest exhibition Hard Twist: Western Ranch Women is a traveling exhibition from the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame of Fort Worth, Texas, featuring 62 black and white photographs that celebrate women of the range, their ranches and the breathtaking Western landscapes in which they live. Most of the images in the exhibit were taken by Barbara Van Cleve, who is nationally known for her photographs of Western landscapes, ranchers, cowboys and cattlewomen. The exhibition is open January 30 – April 25, 2021. Learn more.