Lee Hall papers
name: label: Creator
content: Hall, Lee
label: Names
content: Betty Parsons Gallery
label: Names
content: Rhode Island School of Design
label: Names
content: Ajay, Abe
label: Names
content: De Kooning, Elaine
label: Names
content: De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997
label: Names
content: Parsons, Betty, 1900-1982
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Massachusetts
label: Occupation
content: Authors -- Massachusetts
label: Occupation
content: Arts administrators -- Rhode Island
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated in 2018 by the Lee Hall Estate via Carolyn Crozier and Deborah Jacobson, co-executors.
creator: label: Creator
content: Hall, Lee
setName: label: See more items in
content: Lee Hall papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter, author, and arts administrator Lee Hall measure 7.4 linear feet and date from circa 1870-2017, bulk 1975 to 2010. The papers document Hall's career through biographical material, correspondence, writings, studio records, printed material, photographic material, and artwork. Included is significant documentation on Hall's book projects, including biographies of Betty Parsons, Abe Ajay, and Willem and Elaine de Kooning.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Lee Hall (1935-2017) was a painter, author, and arts administrator who served as president of the Rhode Island School of Design from 1975-1983. Born in Lexington, North Carolina and raised in Florida following her parents' divorce, Lee Hall later returned to her birth state to attend the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina. She received her bachelor of fine arts in 1955, studying under the abstract painter John Opper. She eventually earned a masters degree in art education and a PhD in creative arts, both from New York University. Hall's paintings shared an Abstract Expressionist sensibility common with many of her peers at the Betty Parsons Gallery, imparted on the figurative tradition of landscape painting. Hall showed her paintings at the Betty Parsons Gallery from the late seventies until 1982 when the gallery closed following Parsons' death, after which she ceased exhibiting her work almost entirely until the last decade of her life. Hall maintained a studio at her home in South Hadley, Massachusetts throughout her life. A few years before Parson's death Hall had agreed to write Parsons' biography, finally released in 1991, on the condition that she and papers were made available for intensive research. Hall published titles on a wide variety of subjects including a comprehensive survey of American clothing (1992), and perhaps most notably the controversial biography of painters Elaine and Willem de Kooning (1993).
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 7.4 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1870s-2017
label: Date
content: bulk 1975-2010
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.halllee
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Diaries
label: Type
content: Video recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged in seven series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1970-2010 (0.2 Linear Feet; Boxes 1, 7)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1870-2016 (0.3 Linear Feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1920-2010 (4.0 Linear Feet; Boxes 1-5)

Series 4: Studio Records, circa 1973-2010 (0.2 Linear Feet; Box 5)

Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1914-2016 (0.4 Linear Feet; Boxes 5, 7)

Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1940-2017 (1.7 Linear Feet; Boxes 5-9)

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1950-2010 (0.6 Linear Feet; Boxes 6-7, Oversize 10)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Ryan Evans in 2019.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of painter, author, and arts administrator Lee Hall measure 7.4 linear feet and date from circa 1870-2017, bulk 1975 to 2010. The papers document Hall's career through biographical material, correspondence, writings, studio records, printed material, photographic material, and artwork. Included is significant documentation on Hall's book projects, including biographies of Betty Parsons, Abe Ajay, and Willem and Elaine de Kooning. 

Biographical material includes business cards, résumé and biographical texts, travel documents, and awards. Correspondence is professional and personal in nature and includes some collected historic correspondence from unknown authors. Correspondence regarding specific writing projects is found in the Writings series. The Writings series includes journals and notebooks focusing primarily on Hall's travels and study of Classics including the Greek language. The Writing Projects subseries includes titles intended for publication as well as college papers, essays, and lectures. Published titles are often accompanied by book proposals, contracts, research material, interviews, and correspondence. Also included are writings by others including reviews regarding Hall's art career. Studio records include artwork inventories, loan paperwork, and the mechanical for an exhibition catalog. Printed material includes exhibition invitations for Lee Hall's art career, exhibition catalogs for Hall's exhibitions and that of Betty Parsons, and general printed material regarding Elaine de Kooning, as well as press clippings on various topics. Photographic materials include images of Lee Hall and her circle of friends including Betty Parsons, images of Hall in her studio, installation images of Hall's exhibitions at the Betty Parsons Gallery, and extensive photographs of Hall's travels to the Mediterranean, primarily to Greece and Turkey. The Artwork series includes sketches, watercolors and other small paintings by Lee, as well as illustrated manuscripts for children's book titles.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: Three linear feet of Betty Parsons papers donated as part of the Lee Hall papers were transferred to the collection of Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers, also located at the Archives of American Art.