RUSSELL LEE PAPERS
1903-1992
Bulk Dates: 1936-1965
18 linear feet
21 boxes
Acquisition:
Donations since 1986 by Jean Lee
and Bill Wittliff.
Access:
Direct inquiries to the
Archivist, Southwestern Writers Collection, Texas State University-San Marcos,
San Marcos, Texas 78666-4604
Processed by: Mary Jane Appel and Amanda York, 1999, and Carla Ellard and
Amanda York, 2001.
Biographical
Notes:
Russell Lee was born on July 21, 1903, in Ottawa, Illinois. His parents' divorce, the death of his
mother, and supervision by three successive guardians created an unsettled
childhood for Lee. In 1917 he was
sent to Culver Military Academy (CMA), which provided some stability in his
life. He attended CMA until 1921,
then enrolled at Lehigh University, in Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1925 with a degree in
chemical engineering and joined the Certainteed Products Company in Marseilles,
Illinois.
In 1927 he married painter Doris Emrick. The following year, Lee was transferred
to Kansas City, where he became so bored with his job he resigned to pursue
painting. After moving to San
Francisco in 1929, the Lees resettled a year later in an artists colony in
Woodstock, New York. Lee
subsequently became increasingly frustrated with his limitations as a
painter. In 1935, at the suggestion
of a friend, he bought his first camera and his enthusiasm for photography
quickly grew. He explored the
technical aspects of the craft, experimenting with developing chemicals,
exposure speeds, and flash photography techniques.
Lee began taking documentary
photographs in Woodstock in 1935 and went to Pennsylvania to photograph bootleg
coal miners. The winter of 1935
found him in New York City documenting the poor and their living
conditions. Shortly after, he
acquired an agent and began selling his work to magazines. In 1936, Lee joined the photographic
staff of the Resettlement Administration, later renamed the Farm Security
Administration (FSA), where he worked under the creative supervision of Roy
Stryker, director of photographic projects. His colleagues included Dorothea Lange,
Arthur Rothstein, Walker Evans, and Carl Mydans. During his FSA years, Lee traveled
throughout the United States, documenting life in rural and urban
communities. He developed a flash
technique that enabled him to take innovative and candid interior
photographs. He also specialized in
taking pictures in series, most notably those shot in Pie Town, New Mexico, and
San Augustine, Texas.
The long periods away from his wife while working for the FSA contributed
to their divorce in 1938. On
assignment in New Orleans the same year, he met Jean Smith, a Dallas
journalist. They began working
together and eventually married.
In 1943, Lee received a captain's commission in the Air Transport Command
(ATC). He traveled military
transport routes taking aerial photographs, visiting the West Indies, North
Africa, India, and China. Lee was
promoted to major and received the Air Medal.
About a year after leaving the ATC, in 1946, Lee was hired by the
Department of the Interior's Coal Mines Administration to take photographs for a
major report on health and safety conditions in bituminous coal mines.
The Lees moved to Austin, Texas, in 1947. At the request of his former FSA chief,
Roy Stryker, Lee worked for Standard Oil of New Jersey, documenting the oil
industry at home and overseas. Lee
continued with industrial photography projects throughout the 1950's, visiting
Saudi Arabia and Europe. He
contributed to Fortune
magazine and was an associate staff member of the prestigious Magnum
photographic cooperative.
Between 1949 and 1962, Lee conducted a photographic workshop at the
University of Missouri. In 1950,
Lee worked with The University of Texas on a study of Spanish-speaking people in
Texas. He contributed to the
Texas Observer and between
1952 and 1957 covered Ralph Yarborough's election campaigns. His coverage of a 1956 Texas primary
campaign appeared in The New York Times. The
September, 1961, issue of Texas Quarterly published 150 of some 4,000 photographs taken
during a two-and-a-half month visit to Italy.
In 1965, The University of Texas at Austin presented an exhibition of
Lee's photographs and he was invited to join the university's art faculty as an
instructor in photography. He
taught until his retirement in 1973.
Russell Lee died on August 28, 1986.
Related
Readings:
Hurley, F. Jack. Russell Lee: Photographer. Dobbs Ferry: Morgan
& Morgan,
1978.
------------ Just Before the War: Urban America as seen by
Photographers of the
farm Security Administration. New
York:
October House,
1968.
Scope and Content
Note:
This collection of photographs, correspondence, personal and legal
documents, artifacts, paintings, and publications ranges in date from 1901-1991
(bulk dates 1936-1942). It has been arranged into the following series: I.
Correspondence, II. Personal Documents, III. Legal Documents, IV. President’s Commission on Coal, V.
Awards, VI. Exhibits and Publications, VII. Interviews, VII. Clippings, IX.
Artifacts, X. Photographs of Lee, and XI. Photographs by
Lee.
Letters from Jack Hurley to Russell Lee, regarding Hurley’s book,
Russell Lee: Photographer,
comprise the bulk of the correspondence series. Three of Russell Lee’s FSA field
notebooks, which were used to write captions for his FSA photographs, are
located in the Personal Documents series. Other personal documents include Lee’s
mother’s diary (1990-1901), the family Bible, and several of Jean Lee’s writing
assignments (1967). Legal documents
include divorce and marriage records, passports, and Lee’s grandmother’s will.
Of particular note are paintings by Lee which pre-date his interest in
photography, and three of Lee’s cameras, along with their accessories, such as a
hand held flash and various viewfinders.
The seventy-eight photographs of Lee, dating from his childhood through
his early eighties, were taken by unknown photographers and by well known
photographers, such as Ave Bonar. Some are portraits, many are candid
photographs.
The three-hundred fifty-two photographs in this
collection taken by Lee provide an overview of his entire career. The bulk of the professional photographs
taken by Lee include work from his years with the Farm Security Administration
(FSA), from 1936 to 1942. One
hundred and thirty of the FSA prints are rare, vintage prints. Other photographs
include those taken while he was serving with the Air Transport Command (ATC)
from 1942 through 1945, and documentary work undertaken for the Coal Mines
Administration in 1946, arranged in chronological order.
Series
Summary:
Series I :
Correspondence
A. To Russell Lee
B.
To Jean
Lee
Series II : Personal
Documents
A. Werner Family Bible
B.
Diary of Mrs. Burton
Cook Lee (Adeline Lee)
C. Russell Lee’s Notebooks
D. Jean Lee’s Writings
Series III : Legal
Documents
A. Documents relating to will of Eva
Werner
B.
Certificates
C. Passports
D. Financial
Series IV : President’s
Commission on Coal
A. Correspondence
B.
Financial
documents
C. Guidelines and working
papers
D. Articles
Series V :
Awards
Series VI : Exhibits and
Publications
Series VII :
Interviews
Series VIII:
Clippings
Series IX : Artifacts
A. Camera Equipment
B.
Air Transport
Command cap
Series X : Paintings by
Lee
Series XI : Photographs
of Lee
Series XII : Photographs by Lee
A. Pre-FSA
B.
FSA
C. ATC
D. CMA
E.
Standard
Oil
F.
Italy
G. Post World War II Texas
H. Undated color slides
Series Descriptions:
This series contains three of Russell Lee’s FSA field notebooks (late
1930s-early 1940s), with his notes which were later used to write captions for
his FSA photographs. After a certain point in time, Jean Lee took over the duty
of gathering this information and maintaining notebooks for this purpose. The
notebooks maintained by Jean Lee are presumed to have been discarded by Ms. Lee
after Russell Lee’s death. Other materials in this series include family
documents such as Russell Lee’s mother’s diary from 1900-1901, the family Bible
dating from 1881, as well as some of Jean Lee’s writing assignments dating from
1967.
Documents including and relating to the will of Russell Lee’s maternal
grandmother, Eva Werner, comprise the first subseries of this series, and relate
in part to a half-sister of Lee’s. Other documents include a divorce decree for
Russell Lee and his first wife, birth and marriage certificates for Russell and
Jean Lee, passports for both Lees, and financial records related to a household
employee.
Correspondence, financial documents, and guidelines and working papers
comprise this series which relates not to Russell Lee’s work with the Coal Mine
Administration (dates), but to his role as consultant to the President’s
Commission on Coal in the late 1970s.
This series includes some of the awards given to Russell Lee throughout
his career, arranged in chronological order, beginning with one from his high
school, Culver Military Academy, dating from 1919-1920. Lee’s World War II Air
Medal and other WWII decorations, as well a Resolution commemorating Lee’s
efforts on behalf of the Coal Mine Administration (1947) are also included in
this series. A Texas State Senate
Resolution presented to Jean Lee in 1986 in memory of Russell Lee is also
present.
This series includes catalogs, a booklet, and a poster related to
exhibits of Russell Lee’s works (one exhibit by the Coal Mine Administration in
1947, one by the University of Texas at Austin in 1965, and one by Texas A&M
in 1986). Articles related Lee’s work in general complete this series.
Series Descriptions,
cont.:
This series is comprised of one transcript with corrections and edits
from an interview of Russell Lee by Richard Doud, on June 2,
1964.
The clippings in this series relate to Russell Lee’s photographic career,
and appear to have been maintained by both Russell and Jean Lee. Clippings
regarding Lee’s death were maintained by Jean Lee.
The bulk of this series is comprised of three of Russell Lee’s cameras
and their accessories, such as his hand held flash and various viewfinders. Also
included is Lee’s Leitz 35mm enlarger, and his cap from his tenure with the Air
Transport Command.
The three oil paintings in this series are not dated, but were created
during the early 1930s, when Lee studied painting in Woodstock, NY. A friend
suggested Lee buy a camera and take photographs to improve his painting
technique; Lee did so and quickly became interested in photography. The painting
of the man in this series remains unfinished as a result of Lee’s shift in
artistic focus.
The Collection contains 77 photographs of Russell Lee, the largest group
known to exist. This group of
photographs range from portraits by unknown studio photographers, to well known
photographers such as Ave Bonar.
Russell Lee is portrayed both in snapshots by anonymous photographers and
candid photographs by military photographers in the Air Transport
Command.
Arranged in chronological order by following Lee’s career, this series
consists of three-hundred fifty-two photographs. Two-hundred forty-eight of
these photographs by Russell Lee were taken for the Farm Security Administration
(FSA) between 1936 and 1942. The
gems of this part of the collection are the 130 vintage prints; most are
complete with captions typed on the back by FSA staff. Making up the balance of the FSA
group are 94 modern prints, 6 panels from the 1965 retrospective at the
University of Texas, and 18 study prints. Every FSA photograph in the
Collection has been identified by its Library of Congress negative number and
its FSA caption information.
The balance of the photographs in the Collection provide the researcher with a comprehensive overview of Russell Lee’s entire career, including his other government work: 16 photographs were taken during his commission during World War II with the Air Transport Command, and 37 photographs are from his tenure with the Coal Mines Administration.
Series Descriptions,
cont.:
Series XII : Photographs by Lee (ca.
1936-1960), cont.
Russell Lee’s post government work is also
well-represented in the Collection, including 33 photographs taken for a variety of
publications after World War II in Texas where he photographed and spent most of
his life. Other commercial work is
also represented in his photographs of Italy for a photo essay in the Summer
1961 issue of Texas Quarterly
(5 photographs), and his work for Standard Oil New Jersey/ARAMCO (6
photographs). The Collection
also contains 8 photographs taken during the winter of 1935-1936, prior to
Russell Lee joining the staff of the FSA, and one image of unidentified location
or date.
Russell Lee
Collection
Box Folder
Curtis, James C. (1977) * Three letters
specifically
related to making arrangements for an
interview.
WG1
1
Hurley, Jack
1972-75
2
1976
3
1977 (Includes 2 versions of the manuscript. The
first
4-5
version was sent to Lee with a letter dated
May 11. The second version has changes made
to page 33.)
1978-79
6
Lange, Dorothea, and Taylor, Paul (New Year
Greeting
7
dated March 16, 1962)
O’Neal, Hank
1975-77
8
OWI Staff (Caricature /Farewell card from “The
Gang”
9
signed by the OWI staff. Not dated, but probably
from 1942 when Russell Lee left OWI for
ATC)
Pope, Milton (December 20, 1918) (Lee’s uncle)
10
Maverick, Maury, Jr.
11
Museum of New Mexico
12
Reid, Robert
13
Texas State University-San Marcos (Francine Carraro)
14
Unidentified
15
(Adeline Lee, Russell Lee’s mother)
beginning entry is October 10, 1900
final entry is dated May 29,
1901
3 FSA field notebooks, c. late 1930s, early 1940s
18-20
1 general notebook (date estimated to be mid 1970s)
21
2 note cards, in Lee’s hand, dates unknown
22
(may have come from one of the
notebooks)
Russell Lee
Collection
Box Folder
Famous Writer’s School (Westport, Connecticut)
WG2
1
Assignments for: Section I (dated
10/17/67)
Section II (dated 12/8/67)
Section III
Section IV
Section V
Misc. Writings (not dated)
Series III : LEGAL
DOCUMENTS
Will, dated June 11, 1914 (copy from March 9,
1949)
Trustee Report from March 1, 1983 to August 28,
1986
Form Complaint (contest), October 15,
1986
Legal correspondence to Jean Lee (Oct. 28, 1986 to
July 1,
1990)
Divorce papers for Doris Lee and Russell Lee
(12/7/1939)
3
Marriage certificate for Jean Smith Martin and
Russell W. Lee
4
December 15, 1939
Birth certificate for Russell Werner Lee (DOB July
21, 1903)
5
April 30, 1953
Birth certificate for Dorothy Jean Smith (DOB
April 13, 1908)
6
dated July 10, 1953
International Certificate of Vaccination for
Russell Lee
7
with entries from 1963 to
1966
Russell Lee (dates of issue)
8
1953
1957
1966
1974
1979
1985
Russell Lee
Collection
Box Folder
Jean Lee (dates of issue)
WG2
9
1953
1958
1966
1974
1979
1985
Tax records relating to Naomi Lott (household employee)
1984, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
NOTE: Folder contains envelopes for 1985 and 1987,
but these envelopes contain no
records.
3 Letters sent to Russell Lee in 1979 relating to
his capacity
as a consultant to the President’s Commission on
Coal
Receipt from The University Co-Op in Austin dated
May 1, 1979
2 Purchase Orders from the U.S. Department of
Labor to
Russell Lee covering consultant/speaker fee and
expenses
“Guidelines to Consultants” not
dated
The President’s Commission on Coal list of voting
and non-voting members
Document described as a working paper outlining
issues the
Commission will consider over the coming year.
October 29, 1978
Russell Lee
Collection
Box Folder
Subseries C : Guidelines and working papers,
cont.
Photocopies of newspaper clippings that discuss
The
WG2
13
President’s Commission on Coal. Clippings dated
December 1978 .
10-page questionnaire, not completed. [Note: Date and origin
unknown, but found in Lee’s folder on President’s
Commission on Coal]
List of Recommendations for coal-mining companies,
photocopied from a book. [Note: Date and origin
unknown, but found in Lee’s folder on President’s
Commission on Coal]
“In the Coal Mines Far Away: Russell Lee’s
Photographs of
Mining Life” by Barry O’Connell [Note: handwritten on title
page: Prospects 2 Edited by Jack Salzman Published
by Burt
Franklin & Co. 1976]
“1946: Day by Day. The Sergent Family , Photographed
by Russell W. Lee” [Note: handwritten on title page : Southern
Exposure Vol 4, #1-2 Spring/Summer 1976]
Silver cup [from Culver Military Academy] with the
inscription: “Presented by “D” Co. to Cadet Russell W.
Lee who has shown the most company spirit and done
the most for the company during the school year 1919-1920”
Leather Air Medal box with Air Medal inscribed to
“Major
Russell W. Lee A.C.” Box also contains a variety of World
War II decorations.
Resolution from Coal Mines Administration to
Russell Lee,
dated June 30, 1947
Russell Lee
Collection
Box Folder
Series V : Awards,
cont.
WG3 1
Copper ? Award with the inscription: “Presented to
Russell
and Jean Lee, Workshop Directors by the School of
Journalism, University of Missouri. In recognition of
their great contribution to photojournalism,
May 17, 1954
Senate Resolution in Memory of Russell Lee
presented to
Jean Lee on and dated September 4,
1986
1947
2
Booklet entitled “The Coal Miner and His Family: A
Supplement to A Medical Survey of the
Bituminous-Coal
Industry” published by Department of the Interior,
Washington,
1947 Contains many photographs by Russell Lee when
employed by the Coal Mines
Administration
1954-57
3
Letter by Jim Hightower serving as exhibit text
celebrating
Russell Lee’s political campaign photographs of
Ralph
Yarborough, unidentified exhibit
location/date.
Booklet featuring Lee’s photos of
Yarborough
1965
4
Two 16-page illustrated catalogs for the
Retrospective
Exhibition 1934-64 held at the University of Texas
Art
Museum from February 28 – March 29, 1965.
[Note: A piece of typing paper with an update of
Lee’s
career written in the mid-1970s has been taped to
page 3
of one of the catalogs]
1973
5
Image [Vol. 16, No. 3] September 1973
issue.
Publication of International Museum of Photography
at George Eastman House. Entire issue is devoted to
article on Russell Lee written by Jack
Hurley.
1986 6
Poster for exhibit entitled “A Russell Lee Portfolio:
early Texas portraits” held at Texas A&M September 1
through October 8, 1986
Russell Lee
Collection
Box Folder
Annotated transcript from interview with Richard Doud
on June 2, 1964
1945-1986
8
1986 – Tributes
9
1987-1992
10
Contax camera and case
Araflex camera and case
Linhoff camera and case
Camera case used while in Air Transport Command, includes
five notecards, three lightbulbs in boxes, and one
empty
lens box.
Leitz 35mm enlarger (oversize)
[Young woman, n.d.]
[Farm scene, n.d.]
[Man, unfinished. n.d.]
Photographs are boxed in number (chronological) order.
14
See list in folder for item level listing.
Web address http://www.library.txstate.edu/swwc/wg/exhibits/rlee/
Photographs are boxed in number (chronological) order.
See lists in folders for item level
listing.
Web address
http://www.library.txstate.edu/swwc/wg/exhibits/rlee/
Pre-FSA
15
Farm Security Administration
16
Air Transport Command
17
Coal Mines Administration
18
SONJ
19
Italy
20
Post World War II Texas
21
Slides
22
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