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Evelyn Cameron
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Full NameEvelyn Jephson Flower Cameron
Date of Birth1868-08-26Date of Death1928-12-26DescriptionBorn as Evelyn Jephson Flower on August 26, 1868, Evelyn was the fifth of six children of the wealthy, well-off Flower family. She grew up in sophisticated English society, spoke French and Italian, and rode side-saddle. In 1889 she married Ewen Cameron, an eccentric Scotsman with a deep love of ornithology and the outdoors who had accompanied her older brothers on hunting trips years prior.
Evelyn herself loved the outdoors, and for their honeymoon the Camerons made a trip west to Montana where they spent their time exploring and hunting in the eastern badlands on a guided expedition. Falling in love with the landscape, the wildlife, and the rugged way of pioneer life, the Camerons returned to Montana in late 1891 to establish their own lives in the newly formed state. Evelyn and Ewen established their first of what would eventually be a series of “Eve” Ranches, all located within range of the town of Terry, Montana along the Yellowstone River. They set out to breed and raise polo ponies that would eventually be sold to buyers in British society. When their pony endeavor ended poorly, the Camerons suffered a great financial loss and ended up losing their ranch and returning to England.
Determined to get back to the land they’d fallen in love with, the Camerons moved back to Montana in 1893 to establish the second Eve Ranch, this time in the even harsher environment of the badland hills north of Terry. Ewen devoted himself to his ornithological and ecological studies and Evelyn took on the responsibility of maintaining their ranch, refusing to shy away from the hard work or manual labor that had never been a part of her sophisticated English life back home. The Camerons still struggled financially, primarily relying on Evelyn’s inheritance to support them. Evelyn knew this wasn’t sustainable though, and being the bright, savvy, and thrifty individual she was, she sought ways to bring in new income. From tending an expansive garden, to selling eggs and hosting boarders, Evelyn did all she could to support them. When one visiting boarder came and introduced her to the basics of photography, she saw another new opportunity.
Evelyn took her photography seriously in her bookkeeping and documentation. She carefully tracked how much she’d invested, how many clients she’d had, and what worked and didn’t work about the photos she’d taken. She developed her skills photographing wildlife for Ewen’s ornithological articles and capturing the community she lived in — filled with pioneering frontier folk homesteading, farming, ranching, and living. She read books on photography but honed her own unique eye and talent. Her work is known for its directness, composition structure, theater, and humor.
Evelyn became a great photographer in her own right, but other than in her local community, she remained largely unknown throughout her life. After her passing in 1928, her good friend and the inheritor of her estate, Janet Williams, kept her collection safely tucked away for years before its discovery by author Donna Lucey in 1979. Evelyn’s collection not only included several thousand of her prints and nearly 1,800 glass plate and nitrate negatives, but also her personal journals which spanned all but one year from 1893 – 1928, documenting her life and experience on the eastern Montana frontier. Evelyn’s negatives and vintage prints, her camera, and her extensive diaries are now housed at the Montana Historical Society. The Prairie County Museum and Evelyn Cameron Gallery in Terry, Montana also houses many of her prints and continues to celebrate her legacy as a pioneering Montanan and a groundbreaking photographer.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kristi Hager, Evelyn Cameron: Montana's Frontier Photographer. Helena, MT: Farcountry Press, 2007.
Donna M. Lucey, Photographing Montana: 1894-1928: The Life and Work of Evelyn Cameron. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.
Ann Roberts and Christine Wordsworth, "Divas, Divorce, and Disclosure: Hidden Narratives in the Diaries of Evelyn Cameron," Montana: The Magazine of Western History 64, no. 2 (Summer 2014): 46–62, 94-96.
(Biographical note courtesy of Arizona Duff of Carroll College, Helena, Montana)
ResidencePrairie County, Montana
Date of Birth1868-08-26Date of Death1928-12-26DescriptionBorn as Evelyn Jephson Flower on August 26, 1868, Evelyn was the fifth of six children of the wealthy, well-off Flower family. She grew up in sophisticated English society, spoke French and Italian, and rode side-saddle. In 1889 she married Ewen Cameron, an eccentric Scotsman with a deep love of ornithology and the outdoors who had accompanied her older brothers on hunting trips years prior.Evelyn herself loved the outdoors, and for their honeymoon the Camerons made a trip west to Montana where they spent their time exploring and hunting in the eastern badlands on a guided expedition. Falling in love with the landscape, the wildlife, and the rugged way of pioneer life, the Camerons returned to Montana in late 1891 to establish their own lives in the newly formed state. Evelyn and Ewen established their first of what would eventually be a series of “Eve” Ranches, all located within range of the town of Terry, Montana along the Yellowstone River. They set out to breed and raise polo ponies that would eventually be sold to buyers in British society. When their pony endeavor ended poorly, the Camerons suffered a great financial loss and ended up losing their ranch and returning to England.
Determined to get back to the land they’d fallen in love with, the Camerons moved back to Montana in 1893 to establish the second Eve Ranch, this time in the even harsher environment of the badland hills north of Terry. Ewen devoted himself to his ornithological and ecological studies and Evelyn took on the responsibility of maintaining their ranch, refusing to shy away from the hard work or manual labor that had never been a part of her sophisticated English life back home. The Camerons still struggled financially, primarily relying on Evelyn’s inheritance to support them. Evelyn knew this wasn’t sustainable though, and being the bright, savvy, and thrifty individual she was, she sought ways to bring in new income. From tending an expansive garden, to selling eggs and hosting boarders, Evelyn did all she could to support them. When one visiting boarder came and introduced her to the basics of photography, she saw another new opportunity.
Evelyn took her photography seriously in her bookkeeping and documentation. She carefully tracked how much she’d invested, how many clients she’d had, and what worked and didn’t work about the photos she’d taken. She developed her skills photographing wildlife for Ewen’s ornithological articles and capturing the community she lived in — filled with pioneering frontier folk homesteading, farming, ranching, and living. She read books on photography but honed her own unique eye and talent. Her work is known for its directness, composition structure, theater, and humor.
Evelyn became a great photographer in her own right, but other than in her local community, she remained largely unknown throughout her life. After her passing in 1928, her good friend and the inheritor of her estate, Janet Williams, kept her collection safely tucked away for years before its discovery by author Donna Lucey in 1979. Evelyn’s collection not only included several thousand of her prints and nearly 1,800 glass plate and nitrate negatives, but also her personal journals which spanned all but one year from 1893 – 1928, documenting her life and experience on the eastern Montana frontier. Evelyn’s negatives and vintage prints, her camera, and her extensive diaries are now housed at the Montana Historical Society. The Prairie County Museum and Evelyn Cameron Gallery in Terry, Montana also houses many of her prints and continues to celebrate her legacy as a pioneering Montanan and a groundbreaking photographer.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kristi Hager, Evelyn Cameron: Montana's Frontier Photographer. Helena, MT: Farcountry Press, 2007.
Donna M. Lucey, Photographing Montana: 1894-1928: The Life and Work of Evelyn Cameron. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.
Ann Roberts and Christine Wordsworth, "Divas, Divorce, and Disclosure: Hidden Narratives in the Diaries of Evelyn Cameron," Montana: The Magazine of Western History 64, no. 2 (Summer 2014): 46–62, 94-96.
(Biographical note courtesy of Arizona Duff of Carroll College, Helena, Montana)
ResidencePrairie County, MontanaImage
Document
Evelyn Cameron. Montana History Portal, accessed 12/12/2024, https://www.mtmemory.org/nodes/view/85669
