Barbara Van Cleve’s journey beganin the small town of Melville, outsid eof Big Timber, in 1935. It was here, amidst the sweeping prairies and towering peaks, that her love affairwith photography blossomed. Critical of her own hand-drawing skills, Van Cleve recalls seeking a way to visually communicate her awe and appreciation for ranching. After spending hours poring over the photographs in LIFE magazine at the family’s kitchen table, she ultimately sought to document what moved her through the lens of a camera.
At the age of 11, Van Cleve’s parents indulged her persistent pleas. The “Brownie” camera soon became her mode of expression. However, developing film was expensive, so to support her photography habit, Van Cleve worked odd jobs on the ranch (in addition to mucking stalls, moving hay, and the numerous chores she was expected to do as a member of the family).
Despite her passion and talent, Van Cleve’s path to professional photography was not entirely direct. In a 2005 interview, Van Cleve offered this: “I don’t think anyone in those days felt that a young woman could support herself in art, let alone photography. Mother sat down and talked to me, and I decided I’d better get a teaching certificate so I could support myself.”
Van Cleve pursued teaching in large part because it allowed her to have summers off so she might return to the ranch in Montana. There she’d spend three to four months taking photographs and leading pack trips at the Lazy K Bar Ranch near Melville.
One of Van Cleve’s most notable contributions to Montana culture lies in her documentation of the state’s ranching heritage. Her photographs immortalized the labor of stoic cowboys and cowgirls across Montana and offer a glimpse into those ways of life that are rapidly disappearing, preserving memories for future generations to cherish.
Over the years, Van Cleve’s work has garnered numerous awards and honors, including the Montana Governor’s Arts Award and the Western Heritage Wrangler Award for Photography (by the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum). In 1995, she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas.
Despite her widespread acclaim, Van Cleve remains rooted in the land that has always been her muse. She continues to call Montana home, drawing inspiration from the people, the landscape, and the core values that are central to Montanans’ way of life.