Distinctly Montana Magazine

38 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 4 - 2 5 a peek at what was in her basement. It turned out to be a trea- sure that has since brought the photographer, a British transplant named Evelyn Cameron, international recognition in the world of photography. Lucey found over a hundred boxes filled with glass plate negatives, film, and to top it all off, a daily diary from every year Evelyn Cameron lived on the Eve Ranch, from 1894 to 1928. But the main thing that struck Lucey right away was the stun- ning quality of Cameron's photography. In an era where most photographs showed their subjects as stiff and unsmiling, Cam- eron captured life on the prairie with a realism that was unique. She also had an eye for nature that was entirely her own, and as Lucey would later discover, often spent hours perched in com- plete stillness in order to capture a photo of a bird landing in its nest. At a time when there were no telephoto lenses, Cameron managed to get some incredible closeups of birds and other ani- mals because of this patient determination. Unlike Vivian Maier, Evelyn Cameron came from money. A lot of money. Her father was a successful merchant, and one of her half-brothers was member of the British cabinet under Glad- stone, while her mother was a descendant of the Rothschild fam- ily. But when Evelyn met and married an eccentric gentleman named Ewen Cameron, who was about fifteen years her senior, they chose to visit America for their honeymoon. Only they didn't choose the nightlife of New York City. Ewen was obsessed with nature, particularly ornithology, and Evelyn shared his fas- cination with wildlife, so they traveled to the prairie of eastern Montana. Lucey speculates that their choice may have been in- fluenced by the fact that Evelyn's family didn't approve of her choice for a husband, who was clearly below their station in the world. And although Cameron was given a monthly stipend from her family's fortune, it didn't amount to much, and her family consistently refused to help her even in some of her more des- perate years. So her choice ended up costing her a great deal financially, although there is little indication that she regretted that decision. Ewen proved to be much more blessed at coming up with ideas than he was with business sense. So for the decades they lived in eastern Montana, it was usually Evelyn who kept them financially viable, with little help from her husband. What became more apparent to Lucey as she worked her way through the years of diaries was that Evelyn Cameron was not your typical British aristocrat. She fell in love with the rigorous life of the prairie, and unlike many of the aristocracy who lived and wrote about their time in the West, Cameron didn't have a pretentious bone in her body. She loved doing physical labor, and would accompany Ewen on weeks-long hunting trips every fall, sleeping in a tent, gathering meat for the winter. Cameron became very popular among the locals for her willingness to help with anything and everything. And eventually, she became the only choice for anyone who wanted a photographic record of any event in the region. I have to wonder whether both Cameron's and Maier's work would have been taken more seriously if they were men. The fact that they weren't recognized for the quality of their work during their lifetimes, especially considering that Cameron's photo- graphs compare favorably with the contemporary men such as A.D. Huffman, doesn't make sense. Even Huffman was a fan of her work, buying several prints from her. The one thing they did have in common was they both liked to capture snapshots of lives in action. Although Cameron was hap- py to do portraits if people requested them, she mostly did that for money, and did not enjoy it, especially if there were children in- volved. Her real gift came out when she was capturing authentic life in the West. People harvesting. Or doing household chores. Or She fe in love wi e rigorous life of e prairie, AND UNLIKE MANY OF THE ARISTOCRACY WHO LIVED AND WROTE ABOUT THEIR TIME IN THE WEST, CAMERON DIDN'T HAVE A PRETENTIOUS BONE IN HER BODY.

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