Larry Schwarm has photographed prairie fires in vibrant color since 1990. Fires are essential to the ecology of the prairies of the artist’s home state of Kansas and the surrounding region, including eastern Colorado where this photograph was taken. Prairie fires occur naturally, but ranchers also set their fields ablaze every March to prevent forest growth and regenerate grasses that sustain bison and cattle. The artist witnesses these fires at close proximity: “One side of your face is hot; the other side is cool. You hear the sounds of the fire crackling, of birds and coyotes; you smell air mixed with the freshness of spring and the sharpness of smoke.” The wild, apocalyptic quality of his photographs provides a visual analogy for such intense, physical sensations. Photography allows Schwarm to commit to memory personal experiences of a landscape that is under threat, and to share those experiences with others. Tallgrass prairies were once the largest continuous ecosystem in North America, stretching 170-million acres from Texas to Canada. They were all but destroyed by farming practices in the 19th century; less than four percent of the original acreage exists today. gift of nancy and tom o’neil, baltimore, bma 2013.348 (Kristen Hileman, New Arrivals: Photographs from the O'Neil Collection, September 2015)