Graves Collection a photographic legacy of early Chadron

About Ray and Faye Graves

Ray Graves moved to Chadron in 1906 from his native Carleton, Nebraska. He was 20 when he relocated to northwest Nebraska and purchased his studio from a retiring local photographer. He married Faye McManimie in 1909. She had been raised in and around Chadron.

The couple set up their home above Ray’s studio, and Faye joined him in the photography business. Ray taught her the trade and sent her to a photography college in Effingham, Illinois, twice.

From 1914-1919, the couple produced some of their most dramatic work with advanced lighting thanks to 24-hour electricity in the city and interesting curtain backdrops. During this time they were able to set up studios in neighboring towns as well.

Ray and Faye established a long relationship with the Native Americans in the area, and took many images of the Oglala Lakota Sioux, including what is believed to be the last known photographs of Red Cloud before his death.

Ray died in early 1919 when the Spanish flu epidemic hit Chadron. Faye stepped away from the business for a time but eventually returned to the studio, operating it until her retirement in 1940. It is suspected that the couple together produces an estimated 10,000 glass plates.

“Ray and Faye Graves were, arguably, the best studio photographers of local Nebraska history. Their expertise at capturing subjects and scenery describe the culture of the area quite well. Their methods and techniques were the product of years of training and practice that have left us with an enduring photographic legacy of the High Plains in the early 1900s,” wrote Chadron State College intern Philip Krepel in his biography of Ray and Faye Graves, published in a book produced in conjunction with the 2004 display of the studio portraits.

Both Ray and Faye are buried in Greenwood Cemetery.