Louise Serpa

Louise Serpa (1925–2012) was a rodeo photographer.^[1]

Personal

Serpa grew up in New York City, where she attended the Chapin School, which she considered a “school for small girl snobs.” ^[2] She first encountered the west as a child, when her mother took her to Nevada in order to get divorced from her father.^[3] In 1943, at the age of 18, Serpa took a summer job as a ranch hand in Wyoming, where she met Lex Connelly, one of the founders of the modern rodeo. She returned to the east coast for college. She studied opera and graduated from Vassar College with a degree in music. During World War II, she sang and danced as part of the USO.

Becoming a photographer

After a brief marriage on the east coast, Serpa moved to Scottsdale in the early 1950s, where she met and married Tex Serpa. Daughters: Lauren Serpa and Mia Larocque. She and Tex did a variety of jobs, including running a family sheep ranch. In about 1960, she divorced Tex and moved her two daughters to Tucson, where she began to photograph kids at rodeos. She would then sell the 5x7 portraits the following weekend. She went on to shoot rodeos for the next 50 years.

Awards and recognition

Serpa was the first woman sanctioned to work the rodeo arena by the Pro Rodeo Cowboy Association. She was named photographer of the year at the 2005 National Finals. She was an inducted member into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame. Her photography collection is located within the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Serba was the subject of a 1996 documentary, ‘’When the Dust Settles.” In 2015, Jan Cleere wrote her biography, ‘’Never Don't Pay Attention: The Life of Rodeo Photographer Louise L. Serpa’’ She was also featured in the 1995 book, ‘’Rodeo’’.

References

1. TucsonSentinel.com. "Rodeo photographer, Western legend Louise Serpa dead at 86". Retrieved 25 July 2016.