Curator Talk: Photographs Made, Photographs Collected

Join ArtYard on February 22 for a curator’s talk with Nicole Jean Hill, curator of Lora Webb Nichols: Photographs Made, Photographs Collected, an exhibition drawn from one of the most remarkable photographic archives of early 20th-century America.

Hill will discuss the life and work of Lora Webb Nichols (1883–1962), a self-taught photographer who documented daily life in Encampment, Wyoming, over several decades, creating and collecting approximately 24,000 negatives. Nichols’ images — portraits of family and neighbors, scenes of labor and leisure, and views of the surrounding landscape — offer an intimate and expansive record of rural American life during a period of profound social change.

The talk will explore Hill’s curatorial approach to presenting this extraordinary archive, as well as the artistic, historical, and cultural significance of Nichols’ photographs. Attendees will gain insight into how the exhibition was shaped and how Nichols’ work continues to resonate with contemporary audiences.