Image: Holter Museum of Art, Helena
Nicholson & Held Galleries dates an exhibition of Cooper’s Adel Ranch photographs for September 11–October 25, 2026. An opening reception is scheduled for Friday, September 11, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., followed by a panel discussion on Wednesday, September 23, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Cooper shot the photographs in 1995, 2000 and 2007 while documenting the Adel Ranch’s annual spring sheep shearing. The panel features Gretchen Hibbard of Sieben Live Stock, Tracie Roeder of Montana Wool Company and Holter director Christina Barbachano.
Adel Ranch is owned and operated by the Sieben Live Stock Company near Cascade, Montana, where five generations of Sieben and Hibbard families have kept the cattle and sheep business operating since 1864. Cooper is a black-and-white documentary photographer with more than 40 years of experience who began documenting aspects of a rapidly vanishing Montana, including sheep shearings, rodeos and brandings.
The project produced approximately 1,000 images from 30 rolls of film. The exhibition is sponsored by the Missoula Art Museum.
