Lee, Russell, 1903-1986

Russell Lee was born in Ottawa, Illinois on 21 July 1903. His childhood, although of comfortable middle-class rural American heritage, was marred by tragedy. His parents were divorced in 1908, when Lee was five, and his mother was killed in an accident in 1913. Lee was then passed between various relatives and guardians until he returned to Ottawa to be raised by family friends. He became interested in photography in 1931 while married to his first wife, artist Doris Emmrick. She introduced him to art, which he then took up seriously. Dissatisfied with his artistic accomplishments, however, Lee bought himself a camera and began taking pictures. During the early 1930s he took photographs of the destitute and homeless, and of the artistic community in Woodstock, New York, where he lived.

Lee pioneered the "photo essay" approach to photography, producing photographic documentaries. In 1936, he joined Roy Stryker's Resettlement Administration Project, which became the Farm Security Administration (FSA) in 1937. The Project's directive was to use photography to create a social awareness of America's rural problems during the depression years. During this time he traveled away from home for up to nine months at a time, photographing and documenting rural America. He and Doris Emmrick were amicably divorced, and Lee later married Jean Smith, who became his partner.

On behalf of the FSA, Lee traveled to Texas, New Mexico, California, and Arizona. His most famous portrayals are of people pursuing their everyday lives in San Augustine, Texas (1939) and Pie Town, New Mexico (1940). He was a pioneer in the use of flash for indoor photography, capturing indoor images as well as the more usual outdoor scenes.

During World War II, Lee photographed airstrips for the U.S. Air Transport Command in the Far East, but did not remain in the service once the war ended. He spent some time documenting the living and working conditions of coal miners for the Interior Department between 1946 and 1947, and then took on industrial assignments. In 1965, Lee began a new career as an educator in the Department of Art at the University of Texas at Austin. He died on 28 August 1986 in Texas.