We have become aware of the power of horses to heal us. In the case of Jane Evelyn Atwood, the great American born photographer, horses helped her overcome her grief over the loss of her closest friend. Atwood started photographing horses at one of the lowest points in her life. After her friend’s death she even thought she would no longer be able to photograph. But, as is often the case, one door closes and another one opens and, after meeting her new partner, she found herself attracted to photographing horses while both of them were in Brittany. This 5 year project which took her from Mongolia to the US and from Normandy to a Paris suburb, has led to a very special exhibition, a celebration of life, at the Paris gallery In Camera, as well as a book by Atelier EXB, the great publisher of photography books.
Horses might also be the end of a cycle in Jane Evelyn Atwood’s work and the beginning of a new one. For close to 50 years, the recipient of the prestigious W. Eugene Smith Grant has been immersed in difficult and emotionally draining projects - women in prison, blind children, land mines, Haiti.
Jane Evelyn Atwood arrived in France in 1971, at the age of 24, not knowing too much what direction her life would take. To survive in Paris she worked at the French postal service, then called the PTT (Post Télégraphe et Téléphone). She befriended prostitutes in the Rue des Lombards, near Les Halles, in Paris, who let her photograph them. This beautiful book, simply titled Rue des Lombards, was published in 1976. Life is often strange. Through her work with prostitutes, Atwood became a photographer. “I learned to be patient and to listen. Listening is sometimes more important than seeing,” she says.
She has had a connection with horses since her childhood. Living in Tennessee with her family, she would often ride. But her relationship with the equine world goes back deep. As we speak, Jane Evelyn Atwood moves to an adjacent room in her apartment. She shows a beautiful silver cup. “That’s something my great-grandfather won,” she says. And on the wall, a photograph of a race horse says “July 4, 1901. Won by Princess May.”
That room is filled with images of horses. She even has a beautiful drawing by Rosa Bonheur who, last year, had a blockbuster exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay, after years of neglect. “There was a toy store for collectors in the rue Pestalozzi where I used to live,” she remembers. “On the store’s wall I saw the head of a horse. I came in, not knowing it was a drawing by Rosa Bonheur. It was cheap. I think I paid 500 francs (less than 100€). I did not know Rosa Bonheur, but I researched her afterwards. She was the beginning of my collection of images of horses.
Now, with her own Horses, the circle is complete. We met with her at her studio in Paris, not far from Montparnasse.
~Jean-Sébastien Stehli
How did you decide to photograph horses? It’s so far from all your other projects?
Jane Evelyn Atwood I have always loved horses. Some years ago, I lost my closest friend Véronique (JEA shows a photograph of her friend on a shelf in her study). She was very connected to my work. She was my best friend in the whole world. When she became ill, I stopped working to take care of her. After she died, I was so lost I really thought I would no longer take photographs. I even thought I would return to the U.S. This was in 2010. Then I met my partner, Sylvain. It was the first time I was meeting a good man ! My life had been filled with heartaches until then ! We’d talk about it with Véronique. I was finally ready to meet a good man. He took me to Ouessant, the island in Brittany, because he comes from this part of France. I saw these 2 horses and I naturally started to feel I wanted to photograph them and suddenly it was just as if a lightbulb had gone off in my head. I told myself: “Why not do a project on horses as I have been loving them for such a long time ?” I had to do all the projects I am known for, it was a personal conviction, but once it was out of my system, I was available for the horses and for a good man !
Where does your love of horses come from ?
JEA I am not sure I can explain it with words. I needed to photograph them to say what I thought about them. Words are weak. When I want to talk about horses, I sound plain. Horses are majestic animals, huge, generous and very curious. They come right away to see what you’re up to. They are never aggressive, unless they are mistreated. I find their beauty absolutely extraordinary. I prefer certain horses to others. For instance, Arabian horses are like the Barbie dolls of horses ! I love all the work horses. The breed called Postier Bretons is my favorite.
Is this a new project or simply images you took in between projects ?
JEA It’s a real project ! There are lots of horses that could not be in the book. If I were driving and I’d see horses, I’d stop.
Do you photograph horses the same way you photograph humans ?
JEA Yes, I photograph them exactly the same way. But I wanted to photograph horses that I found interesting. I was looking for horses I was attracted to. If I were reading something on a breed and I was interested, I would right away organize my life around going to photograph them. I would ask permission to photograph them and people had to understand I was going to take a lot of time. I never had problems, except in the U.S. with race horses. They represent so much money that people don’t want you to even touch them. But I loved this project !
In a way, it’s your project 19, rue des Lombard which taught you how to photograph.
JEA Yes, absolutely !
What did it teach you ?
JEA To be patient. To remain silent, to listen.
Are these useful qualities when photographing horses ?
JEA For me, yes. Horses behave differently from humans, but you know whether they like you or not. You can feel it.
What did you tell yourself just before starting this project ?
JEA I always try to have no preconceived ideas. Most of the time, I don’t know much about the subject, which is the reason I want to do it. I want to learn about it. Photography helps me understand and to know a subject. I try not to have preconceived ideas because it can sabotage my understanding of how to go about the story. Marc Riboud said once when I was very young: “The only work of the photographer is to be present,” so that the story comes to you. That’s how I try to work. I try not to have preconceived ideas and I trust my instincts. I photographed horses where I found them. I felt very free when I was taking these images.
For decades, almost 50 years, you have worked on difficult stories. Did you get some energy back from photographing horses ?
JEA Yes, absolutely. It has even opened my eyes wider. It’s odd to say that. But when I was doing the project on blind children, I often thought they saw better. With horses, I could see something else. With Horses, it’s as if I were coming back to a childhood love, to the true Jane Evelyn Atwood, maybe. I worked on it for 5 years. Suddenly, there are so many things I would like to photograph ! But I will not have enough time left to do them all.
How did the book come about ?
JEA Xavier Barral (the founder of Atelier EXB, JEA’s publisher) came to my studio, I gave him 2 or 3 binders with images of horses. I didn’t know if he liked horses. He started looking with a smile on his face and he looked again at the entire binders. Then he said: “I regret you cannot see my room when I was a young boy. Every single millimeter of every wall was covered with horses.” Xavier then said: “I’ll do the book on horses that has never been made.” When he died, unfortunately, I was in the middle of the project.
All your projects have been in black & white, but sometimes you also see in color. I wondered if, for this project, you thought you could work in color.
JEA I took one color image ! But I saw early on that, because horses are usually brown or dark, you don’t see them against the brown landscape. I was lucky to photograph a foaling, at 3am, in a field, in the light of the car. It’s a color image and I love it, but it’s not in the book.
Do you know if the projects you will be undertaking after Horses will be very different from those you did over the last 50 years?
JEA Yes, I believe so.
Before each project, do you do a lot of reading ?
JEA I try to learn as much as possible, but in the case of horses, there are very few interesting things written about them. It’s in doing that I learn the most, by being with the horses.
Where did you start ? Which was the first image ?
JEA Ouessant was the beginning. And then a small stable on the continent. I had a good feeling. I wrote to the owner, she responded she was surprised I was writing to her, and that’s how it all started.
Jane Evelyn Atwood. Horses. In camera galerie. incamera.fr. Until February 1, 2025.
Horses. Atelier EXB. 128 pages. 45€. exb.fr
