W. eugene smith the country doctor

Written By: Ben Cosgrove

For his groundbreaking 1948 LIFE magazine photo essay, “Country Doctor” — seen here, in its entirety, followed by several unpublished photographs from the shoot — photographer W. Eugene Smith spent 23 days in Kremmling, Colo., chronicling the day-to-day challenges faced by an indefatigable general practitioner named Dr. Ernest Ceriani.

Born on a sheep ranch in Wyoming, Dr. Ceriani attended Chicago’s Loyola School of Medicine but opted not to pursue a medical career in the big city. In 1946, after a stint in the Navy, he was recruited by the hospital in Kremmling, and he and wife Bernetha, who was born in Colorado, settled into the rural town. Dr. Ceriani was the sole physician for an area of about 400 square miles, inhabited by some 2,000 people.

Eugene Smith’s at-times almost unsettlingly intimate pictures illustrate in poignant detail the challenges faced by a modest, tireless rural physician—and gradually reveal the inner workin

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Country Doctor bygd W. Eugene Smith

Country Doctor by W. Eugene Smith

In 1948, Life magazine commissioned Smith to spend 23 days with Dr. Ernest Ceriani and produce a photo essay about Colorado’s country doctor.
Smith has been called “perhaps the single most important American photographer in the development of the editorial photo essay.” He was known to skott projects so extensive that they cannot be displayed in any museum as they usually contain tens of thousands of images.

The Wichita, Kans.–born photographer spent weeks immersing himself in his subjects’ lives, from a South Carolina nurse-midwife to the residents of a Spanish village. His aim was to see the world from the perspective of his subjects—and to compel viewers to do the same.

“I do not seek to possess my subject but rather to give myself to it,” he said of his approach. Nowhere was this clearer than in his landmark photo essay “Country Doctor.” Smith spent 23 days with Dr. Ernest Ceriani in and

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Country Doctor a Photo Essay by W. Eugene Smith

What's up photography fans, Martin here from all about Street Photography Channel and today, I am going to talk about a photo essay Country Doctor by W. Eugene Smith. I am going to take a closer look at the story behind some photographs and if you are not familiar with W. Eugene Smith, make sure to check my previous video about his life and photography.

In 1948, it was commissioned by Life Magazine, Smith spent 23- days with Dr. Ernest Ceriani and produced a photo essay about Colorado’s country doctor.

Now, as I have already mentioned in my previous video about Smith, he was called “perhaps the single most important American photographer in the development of the editorial photo essay.” He was known to shoot projects so large that they cannot be displayed in any museum as they usually contain tens of thousands of images. The most known and important ones are, for example, Minamata Japan or