Gathering Remnants: A Tribute to the Working Cowboy [Hardcover]

Kendall Nelson (Photographer), Gretel Ehrlich (Introduction), Clint Eastwood (Foreword), Felicitas Funke-Riehle (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

The cowboy and his environment are among the most evocative, enigmatic, and surprisingly romantic icons of the American experience. Though considered an anachronistic occupation, the cowboy survives, and contemporary cowboy life is masterfully revealed in this new book of large-format duotone photographs. The apparent isolation of life on the range is balanced by the pride the cowboys exude in their work, and in the tightly bound communities in which they live and operate.

Gathering Remnants presents a world ruled by tradition and a strong ingrained work ethic, which fires our imagination and connects us to our own primal needs for rugged individualism. What makes this book unique is the photographer's ability to capture the authenticity and solidarity of the cowboy's world--vast, flat rangeland that is striking in its subtle beauty.

"Gathering Remnants is a sumptuous book, unabashedly romantic: cowboy as archetype. A spiritual tome, a prayer to a way of life we need to believe in as we stumble through our own, over-scheduled lives."�Teresa Jordan, author of Riding the White Horse Home: A Western Family Album

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gathering Remnants has received a lot of positive response, especially from the ranching and cowboy communities." - Photo District News -- Photo District News, June 2001

"This book captures the reality of the working cowboy." - Clint Eastwood -- Foreword to Gathering Remnants by Clint Eastwood

“Gathering Remnants is a sumptuous book, unabashedly romantic: cowboy as archetype.” -- Teresa Jordan, author of Riding the White Horse Home: A Western Family Album

From the Publisher

Published by Prairie Creek Productions
Distributed by University of New Mexico Press

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 111 pages
• Publisher: Prairie Creek Productions (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967744016
• ISBN-13: 978-0967744018
• Product Dimensions: 14.9 x 12.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #136,554 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic cowboy photos, April 19, 2001

By 

Robert J. MacDonald (Buhl, Idaho United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gathering Remnants: A Tribute to the Working Cowboy (Hardcover)

Timeless black and white photography of a timeless subject, Cowboys of the American West. Well done with an obvious emotional connection to her work. A must for everyone's home and heart!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shooting cowboys and buckaroos on the open range, July 1, 2003

By 

Ronald Scheer "rockysquirrel" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gathering Remnants: A Tribute to the Working Cowboy (Hardcover)

Here's another book of fine photography devoted to cowboys and buckaroos, this time put together by three women. It's a big oversize book, with 48 black and white plates by California photographer Kendall Nelson. The rather worshipful and romantic text is by German-born writer Felicitas Funke-Riehle. Gretel Ehrlich has provided an introduction about the lonely, hard work of a cowboy, written in her own meticulous eye-for-detail style. (Clint Eastwood has a brief 5-sentence foreword.)

The photos were taken 1996-1999 on several ranches in Nevada, with some additional shots taken in Texas, Wyoming, and Idaho. Most of them are of individual cowboys, many with their horses. Typically they are captured against a sweeping terrain under a big sky with scattered clouds. A buckaroo gathers sage brush for a branding fire. Another sits in the open flap of a teepee tent bent over a silver bit he's repairing, Four vaqueros sit in the shade against a wall, smoking cigarettes, the oldest of them watching the photographer.

Cowboys move cattle through sage brush, raising clouds of dust. A cowboss stands with his wife and son against the plank walls of a shed, their three border collies gathered at their feet. A man leans, head down against a fence, snow collecting on the brim of his hat. The photographs capture the relentless, hard work of these men and something of their solitude. Even as they wait for their horses (see cover photograph) they stand separately, keeping a distance between them. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in cowboys, cattle ranching, Western life, and thoughtful photography. For vintage photographs of cowboys, I suggest also Richard Collins' "The American Cowboy."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, September 4, 2007

By 

Red (Colorado) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Gathering Remnants: A Tribute to the Working Cowboy (Hardcover)

Kendall Nelson captures her subject well. I saw her photos on display at my friend's house and she showed me the book. I couldn't afford the photos, but the book was right in my range. Book is great. Photos are wonderful. I especially enjoy the photo of the cowgirl and her dog.