"Retracing Russell Lee" Project Collection Description

Identifier
SWWC-052
Image
Date Created
1991 to 1993
Description
In July, 1991, a team of photographers and oral historians from Texas State University set out to retrace the steps of Farm Security Administration photographer, Russell Lee (1903-1986). Fifty years after Lee visited and photo-documented the living and working conditions of the Depression era communities of San Augustine, Texas, and Pie Town, New Mexico, this group was inspired by Lee’s FSA images held at Texas State’s Wittliff Collections.
This digitized portion of the collection includes photographs, audio oral histories, and video recordings.
Note

The Wittliff Collections makes digitized materials are accessible online with the understanding that the content creator owns copyright and the Wittliff has permission to make them accessible. If you believe you own rights to any material, and would like to be identified and/or the material taken down, please contact us.  

We are also eager to hear from anyone with further information about an item(s), whether about the photographer, context, content, or date. Please contact an archivist at https://www.thewittliffcollections.txst.edu/research/contact-an-archivist.html

Materials from the Wittliff Collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user assumes responsibility for determining copyright status, obtaining permission to publish, and abiding by U.S. copyright laws. https://www.thewittliffcollections.txstate.edu/research/visit/policies/publication.html.   

Historical note

In July, 1991, a team of photographers and oral historians from Texas State University set out to retrace the steps of Farm Security Administration photographer, Russell Lee (1903-1986). Fifty years after Lee visited and photo-documented the living and working conditions of the Depression era communities of San Augustine, Texas, and Pie Town, New Mexico, this group was inspired by Lee’s FSA images held at Texas State’s Wittliff Collections. The group visited these same two towns Lee visited, in some cases the same people, taking photographs and conducting oral histories. The team was funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation, and was led by Francine Carraro and Eric Weller. Students included Tom Anderson, Kathleen Dolan, Homero Garcia, Kerri Madden, Darryl Meyer, Stephanie Shaddock, Karen Sorenson, Mark Edward Smith, Russell Smyth, and Sondra Talbert.

The oral histories and photographs taken by this team led to an exhibit and accompanying catalog featuring selected photographs and portions of the oral histories. The exhibit was first shown at Texas State in September, 1992, and traveled to Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX) and Stephen F. Austin University (Nacogdoches, TX) in 1993.

Jean Lee, widow of Russell Lee, and Bill Wittliff donated a significant collection of Russell Lee’s vintage FSA prints and field notes, as well as cameras, personal papers, and photographs spanning Lee’s entire lifetime and career, to the Wittliff Collections beginning in 1986. While other institutions such as the Library of Congress, National Archives, University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Louisville also hold important Russell Lee collections, the collection at Texas State University includes the largest group of vintage FSA prints.

Scope Note

This collection includes oral histories recorded on audio cassette tapes, transcriptions, videotapes, photographs, notes, and exhibit text panels which document this project, retracing FSA photographer Russell Lee’s Depression era work in Pie Town, NM and San Augustine, TX. Dates range from 1991-1993. The collection is arranged in five series: Oral Histories, Videotapes, Exhibit Catalog, Exhibit Panels, and Photographs.

Digitized portions of the collection includes photographs, audio oral histories, and video recordings.