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Ultimately, Cameron embodied the mythic West: that it was possible for strong inhabi-
tants to work out their own salvation, for the most part by adhering to her convictions.
She lived large, and if the West was about anything, it was about large.
In this remarkable new land, she recorded thousands of photographs with a sim-
ple commercial camera. Today, more than 90 years after her death, her role looms
large in the development of art in Montana.
INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY
Evelyn was born near London, England, on August 26, 1868, "in a plush
house, with generous grounds and 15 servants," according to one of her biog-
raphers.
I
F THERE IS ONE THING THAT IS MOST IRRESISTIBLE ABOUT THE LIFE OF EVELYN CAM-
ERON, IT IS HER INVERTED RICHES-TO-RAGS NARRATIVE. An escapee from English aris-
tocracy, she deserted a splendid Victorian upbringing and a palatial home in Lenox, England,
to homestead in an isolated two-room log cabin in eastern Montana. Cameron possessed an
incredible drive to be in the wilderness, unhampered by Victorian codes of dress or customs.
by BRIAN D'AMBROSIO
Evelyn Cameron
Ga€ery
