The following is a brief overview of the Collection as a whole and a description of the scope of the photographs in this collection, followed by selected highlights of photographic and non-photographic materials.
This site features primarily the photographs in the collection; see the Russell Lee Collection Finding Aid for more detailed information regarding Lee materials at the Wittliff Gallery.

The Photographs
The Collection contains a total of 430 photographs that document the life and career of Russell Lee, and are the crux of the collection.
The Collection contains 78 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.
The remaining 352 photographs in the Collection were taken by Russell Lee and have been categorized as one of four types: VINTAGE (printed within two years of creation), PANELS (from the 1965 retrospective exhibit at the University of Texas), MODERN (printed in the 1970s, most likely by Russell Lee), and STUDY (prints made by the Library of Congress Photoduplication Services).
The majority (248) 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 is catalogued with its FSA caption.
The balance of the photographs in the Collection provides 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.
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 and date.