Lora Webb Nichols
Lora Webb Nichols: Photographs Made, Photographs Collected
Curated by Nicole Jean Hill of the Lora Webb Nichols Archive
April 1–May 1, 2021
Curator’s talk with Nicole Jean Hill: Thursday, April 1st, 6:00 PM
Lora Webb Nichols: Photographs Made, Photographs Collected presents a selection of images curated from the photography archive of this Wyoming homesteader and photographer. Lora Webb Nichols (1883-1962) created and collected approximately 24,000 negatives over the course of her lifetime in the mining town of Encampment. The images chronicle the domestic, social, and economic aspects of the sparsely populated frontier of south-central Wyoming.
Nichols received her first camera in 1899 at the age of 16, coinciding with the rise of the region’s copper mining boom. The earliest photographs are of her immediate family, self-portraits, and landscape images of the cultivation of the region surrounding the town of Encampment. In addition to the personal imagery, the young Nichols photographed miners, industrial infrastructure, and a small town’s adjustment to a sudden, but ultimately fleeting, population increase. As early as 1906, Nichols was working for hire as a photographer for industrial documentation and family portraits, developing and printing from a darkroom she fashioned in the home she shared with her husband and their children. After the collapse of the copper industry, Nichols remained in Encampment and established the Rocky Mountain Studio, a photography and photofinishing service, to help support her family. Her commercial studio was a focal point of the town throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
One remarkable and consistent aspect of the Nichols archive is her view of women of the early 20th century. Nichols photographed pioneer women and their duties as mothers and homemakers. The images provide a unique window into the role of women and their cultivation of community in this era. She made images in Encampment over the course of several decades, resulting in an intimacy and candor in the photographs that is unexpected and captivating. Additionally, Nichols created formal portraits of the workers and travelers passing through the region, including a collection of portraits of the young men arrived in the area to complete public works projects with the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 1930s. The resulting images present a tender view of this Wyoming community.
Given the period of time the collection spans, the isolation of the Encampment community, and Lora Webb Nichols’ gender, this collection of images is unparalleled in its historical significance and visual storytelling. Throughout two marriages, the rearing of six children, the proprietorship of several small businesses, and the relocation to California, Nichols made and collected photographs. She financially supported her family for years in her role as a photographer, just as the medium was inching its way into the consumer market.
In addition to Nichols’ own work, the exhibition includes the work of amateur photographers that she collected during this time frame. Serving as the region’s main source for photofinishing services from 1906–1935, Nichols had access to many of the other photographs being captured throughout the region. Nichols purchased negatives from these amateur photographers that captivated her attention because of their humor, dramatic scenery, or historical significance. Much of the work she collected was by manual laborers working on ranches and public works projects for the Civilian Conservation Corp. Additionally, Nichols served as archivist for the other photographers in her family, including her eldest son and mother. The exhibition features parts of this collection within the collection, providing insight into the visual sensitivity and personality of the prolific record keeper.
The purpose of this exhibition is to provide an introduction to Lora Webb Nichols and her extensive visual narrative of life in the rural American West. Photography enthusiasts and historians are encouraged to explore more of Nichols’ photographs and writings online through the American Heritage Center (Laramie, Wyoming) or in person at the Grand Encampment Museum.
— Nicole Jean Hill, Co-curator, Lora Webb Nichols Archive