Sea wind buffeted Lawrence MacEwan, Laird of the Isle of Muck, and his trusty sheep dog.
Now celebrating a 60-year photographic career, Jim Richardson will offer a new print show at Small World Gallery called “Legacies.” In the show, Jim will reflect on the wide range of subjects he has covered, both here and around the world, for National Geographic Magazine.
Richardson said, “It has been fulfilling as I develop my archive to gather images into coherent bodies of work. But it was also rewarding to recall all the people who aided me in their production: farmers, scientists, archeologists, pilots, gamekeepers, fishermen, ranchers. the occasional friendly sheepdog and landscapes from the Great Plains to the Moors of Scotland.
"Many of their legacies are to be found here, too. Every story was a new world.
“At first it may seem that subjects in ‘Legacies’ are diverse and disconnected, but in each story I almost always found links back to my roots in Kansas — my formative years on my mom and dad's farm and early photography in rural Kansas.”
Richardson’s new show opens on Saturday, November 8 and will run until Saturday, March 21. Signed and numbered prints will be available for order, and 5- by 7-inch greeting cards featuring his works from the show will be available for purchase. All of Richardson’s prints and cards are made by him.
Richardson launched a boyhood interest in photography using his dad’s cameras in rural Republic County and first showed his prints at the local fair. He left the farm to attend Kansas State University and in 1971 began work with the Topeka Capital-Journal for storied photo director Rich Clarkson.
Since his first National Geographic story in 1984, Richardson photographed more than 50 stories — many of them based on his own story proposals. From his base in Denver and later in Lindsborg, Richardson traveled to more than 80 countries in pursuit of photographs that would serve the story — plus keep veteran editors coming back for more.
Richardson returned to his native Kansas in 1997, choosing Lindsborg. Since 2002 he has displayed his work at Small World Gallery on Lindsborg’s Main Street.
Water witcher Ralph Fraser stood against the boiling summer clouds near Belleville, KS.
Having his own gallery changed the way Richardson looked at the art of printing his own photographs, said his spouse Kathy.
"It is a rare thing — a photographer of Jim’s background dedicated to one small storefront for so many years. While Jim’s work has been temporarily displayed in many more distinguished forums by other organizations, Small World Gallery in Lindsborg has remained his North Star."
Timing of “Legacies” also coincides with the re-opening of the Kansas History Museum in Topeka on November 22 after a three-year renovation. The renovated museum will include several huge display photographs by Jim plus an exhibit of Jim’s old equipment.
“Working with the museum staff on several of the displays that feature my pictures encouraged me to think about where and how my photography fits into the wider world,” said Jim. “I think many Kansans will recognize my work on the Flint Hills and small town life in Cuba, Kansas, but they may not realize how that work connects with island life in Scotland, farmers growing potatoes in the high Andes, or astronomers in the Atacama Desert of Chile.”
Small World Gallery is located at 127 N. Main Street. Hours are 10:00am-4:00pm Tuesday-Saturday.