1923-1961

Cranston Ritchie was a photographer in the Lexington Camera Club and friend of fellow club member, Ralph Eugene Meatyard. Ritchie died young at the age of 38 from cancer. James Rhem in his essay, Gene's Friend - Cranston Ritchie, writes, "A little knot the size of a grape and sore to the touch appeared on his right hand. It turned out to be a malignancy. Doctors then thought if the arm were removed above the elbow, the cancer might be stopped from continuing to his lungs. It wasn’t. After five surgeries, each an effort to stop the cancer’s spread, Ritchie died the day after Christmas in 1961." Rhem quotes Meatyard's 1971 recolletion of Ritchie, “He will certainly be recognized in years to come as an outstanding individual photographer as many of the 19th century men are being recognized today.”

Rhem is a scholar noted for his work on Ralph Eugene Meatyard and especially the 2002 book, Ralph Eugene Meatyard: The Family Album of Lucybelle Crater and Other Figurative Photographs. http://jamesrhem.com/