Joseph E. Stimson

A premier western photographer, Joseph E. Stimson captured images of the early years of Wyoming and Cheyenne Frontier Days™. He arrived in Cheyenne at the age of 19, already a professionally trained portrait photographer. His first venture outside the studio was to document the activities associated with Wyoming Statehood in 1890. With his bulky view camera on a tripod, he was the first photographer to enter the arena and capture rodeo events on film. He was able to take some of the earliest images of rodeo competition, creating a visual history of the contestants, committees, grounds, Native Americans, and both Pioneer and Frontier Parks. His action photograph of the famed bucking horse Steamboat is a Cheyenne Frontier Days™ signature piece. He published the earliest CFD Souvenir Programs and hand-colored postcards advertising and documenting the “Daddy of ‘em All.”