This undated glass transparency was taken by Winter Prather (1926-2005) in New Mexico. The image depicts the interior of a small adobe church. A white curtain floats in front open window on the left side of the image. Beyond the curtain, white wooden pews are visible. An altar with Catholic iconography on it extends above the pews. Exposed wooden beams hang from the ceiling. It is unknown whether Prather took this image on behalf of a commercial client; he brought the same sensibility to his commercial and artistic work.
Winter Phillips Prather (1926-2005) was a prominent commercial and fine art photographer who worked primarily in Denver, Colorado and Taos, New Mexico during the mid 20th Century. Due to the physical and mental illnesses that Prather suffered later in his life, many images in the collection were not initially labeled with dates, subjects, or locations. Photographs that have been dated and identified were taken between 1940 and 1978 primarily in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Images in the collection demonstrate Prather's mastery of diverse photographic genera’s. Non-representational abstracts, industrial images, western landscapes, portraits, still-lifes, and art reproductions can all be found among Prather's photographs. In addition, the collection also contains Prather's experimental work with reverse negative printing, composite images, and solarization. This photograph is part of the Winter Prather collection (Ph.00332)