Opening: November 20, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Exhibition dates: November 20, 2009 – January 2, 2010
Russell Lee Photographs, the traveling exhibit of photographs by renowned documentary photographer Russell Lee, draws from the magnificent collection that he donated to the Center for American History just prior to his death in 1986. The exhibit offers a rare glimpse into the remarkably accomplished images he produced in 1935 and 1936, when he first took up a camera, and goes on to highlight the vast body of important work that Lee produced from 1947, when he settled in Texas, through 1977. This exhibition accompanies the publication of Russell Lee Photographs, Images from the Russell Lee Photograph Collection at the Center for American History by the University of Texas Press.
Russell Lee is widely acclaimed as one of the most outstanding documentary photographers of the twentieth century. His images of American life during the Great Depression, created for the Farm Security Administration between 1936 and 1942, hold a preeminent place in one of history's best-known and most useful photographic collections. This famous body of work demonstrates Lee's extraordinary ability to reveal the humanity of his subjects and to become a part of the communities he photographed. It also displays Lee's superior technical ability—his legendary skill in using a flash enabled Lee to create some of the finest candids in the history of photography.
Russell Lee Photographs is the first exhibition to show the full range and quality of Lee's entire oeuvre beyond the FSA work, as well as the first major publication of his photographs since F. Jack Hurley's 1978 book, Russell Lee: Photographer (long out of print). The photographs are grouped into suites of images that represent all of Lee's important subjects: the FSA, early work from New York City and Woodstock; the Spanish-speaking people of Texas; the mentally and physically disabled; political campaigns, including the Kennedy-Johnson campaign of 1960; commercial work for chemical and other companies; a portfolio of images of Italy; and quintessential scenes of small-town life.
Considering Russell Lee's stature in American photography, it is surprising that much of his post-FSA work is unknown to the public and has been seldom seen even in the photography community. By making these images readily available for the first time, this exhibition gives long-overdue recognition to the full range and excellence of Lee's work.
For more information about Russell Lee Photographs or for more information about WFMA, please go to www.mwsu.edu/wfma, call 940-397-8900 or e-mail wfma@mwsu.edu. The Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU is located at Two Eureka Circle. Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. – with extended hours on Thursday until 7 p.m. Saturday hours are 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.