Barbara Van Cleve

Born near Lewiston, Montana, the artist grew up on a ranch near Melville, Montana, that was founded in 1880. She began helping on the ranch when she was a child. She also began photographing, at age 11, after receiving a Brownie camera and a home-developing kit. She later earned an M.A. degree in English literature from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and was a college professor of English at several schools in the Chicago area, as well as Dean of Women at De Paul University. She continues her photography as a textbook photographer and developed her own stock photography agency. She moved to Santa Fe in 1980 to concentrate on her photography. Her work has been widely exhibited and published and she is particularly known for her work on women ranchers. After 25 years, Van Cleve moved to Big Timber, Montana, near the family ranch, where she continues to live and work. (Ware 2014)