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Who Owns Mike Disfarmer’s Photographs?


Strangers made his small-town portraits famous in the art world. Decades later, his heirs want control of the estate. 
Photographer: Rachel Boillot
Publisher: The New Yorker
Format: Digital
Date: 2021/07/13

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Ellen Stewart, one of Disfarmer’s great-nieces, holds a portrait that he took of her parents on their wedding day. Photograph by Rachel Boillot for The New Yorker
The group of relatives fighting for control of Disfarmer’s estate, including Ruth Kirkemier, one of Disfarmer’s great-nieces, is now about sixty strong. Photograph by Rachel Boillot for The New Yorker
Fred Stewart, who is leading his fellow-heirs in their legal effort, said, “What really got to me was the thought of other people benefitting from our family.” Photograph by Rachel Boillot for The New Yorker
Disfarmer’s relatives examine some of his original photographs. Similar ones have sold for more than twenty thousand dollars in the art world. Photograph by Rachel Boillot for The New Yorker
A movie theatre in downtown Heber Springs sits across the street from the site of Disfarmer’s old studio. Photograph by Rachel Boillot for The New Yorker

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