Erwin E. Smith - A Lost World of Cowboys

Erwin Evans Smith was born in Honey Grove, Texas in 1886, but his soon widowed mother remarried and moved him to Bonham, Texas as a small child.  Bonham was the home town of legendary cattleman John Chisum, but real ranch country was about a hundred miles west of there.  Two things were noticed about young Erwin early on.  He was artistic, taking up drawing at age five and photography at age 12, and he was obsessed with becoming a cowboy.  He convinced his stepfather to send him to work on ranches during summer breaks from school.  This continued after he went away to art school in Chicago and Boston, and he became both a competent cowboy and photographer.  Knowing the days of real traditional cowboys were numbered, he made it his business to photograph the lives of the men he worked and lived with.  The fact that he was one of them made his 1908-1912 work all the more poingnant and meaningful.  Today is the first of several series of posts I will be doing featuring his photos.  Below, Mr. Smith on his horse:

I feel a personal connection to Erwin Smith's work for two reasons.  First, I grew up in the remnants of the culture he so beautifully chronicled, and second, he actually photographed at least one blood relative.  My grandmother knew I was gay long before I did and told me when I was about 12 that if I wanted to be happy, I would get an education and get out of West Texas.  I took her advice and don't regret it, but there is a part of me that is still a cowboy.

 

Rare solo

Solo cowboys without horses are rare in Erwin Smith's work,

making an already good photo even more special.

 

Man and Horse

The man and the horse here are both magnificent.

 

Staying warm

Winters in West Texas can be bitterly cold, so this scene is familiar to me.  We had wood stoves 

to heat the ranch houses until I was about 10 when my grandfather installed propane tanks.

There being few trees, the wood was brought by rail from East Texas every fall.

 

Waiting for lunch

These men appear to be sitting on their bedrolls waiting for lunch which is at left.

As a teenager, I went on trail rides much like this, but there was always some

uncle or friend's dad following with a pickup truck just in case.  The chuck

wagon we used was borrowed from another ranch, ours being long gone.

 

Pals

Although they look gruff, there is a bond readily apparent between these two men.

 

Storytelling around the campfire

Given the rough conditions and technology available, Erwin Smith's photography 

of these men listening to a story being told around a campfire is absolutely amazing.

Part of the magic is that he was actually one of them, not a complete outsider.

 

Equity Bar

This is the Equity Bar in Tascosa, Texas in 1908.

The bartender looks like a jovial sort.

 

Message from a horse

The horse is looking at us and saying, "Cows are so stupid.  They climb up here and fall into holes.  Then the guys and I have to come up and pull them out.  Oh, well.  It's a job."

 

Bedding Down

This Erwin Smith photo of two cowboys bedding down for the night is a personal favorite.

 

Dawn of Change

I don't know if these two cowboys are grinning at the city slicker in his bush garb or his newfangled Model T.  In any case, this brilliant Erwin Smith photo encapsulates the changes that were about to overwhelm their way of life.  I left the family ranch at 18 and Texas at 27, only returning for visits since.  Do I miss the life I grew up with?  Yes, at times, but my Granny was right.  I needed to leave to reach my full potential and find a life that embraced me as I am.  As for the men in all these pictures, cowboys have always had a way of landing on their feet.  I hope they all did just that.