Oral history interview with Russell and Jean Lee
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 44 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Lee, Russell, 1903-1986
label: Interviewer
content: Doud, Richard Keith
label: Interviewee
content: Lee, Jean
label: Names
content: New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project
label: Names
content: United States. Farm Security Administration.Historical Section.Photographs
label: Names
content: Evans, Walker, 1903-1975
label: Names
content: Rothstein, Arthur, 1915-1985
label: Names
content: Vachon, John, 1914-1975
label: Names
content: Vanderbilt, Paul
topic: label: Occupation
content: Arts administrators -- Texas -- Austin -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Photography, Artistic
label: Topic
content: Documentary photography
label: Topic
content: Photographers -- Texas -- Austin -- Interviews
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Lee, Russell, 1903-1986
label: Interviewer
content: Doud, Richard Keith
label: Interviewee
content: Lee, Jean
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Russell Lee (1903-1986) was a photographer with the Farm Security Administration. Jean Russell was an administrator under Paul Vanderbilt with the Farm Security Administration of Austin, Tex.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 36 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1964 June 2
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.lee64
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Transcript: 35mm microfilm reel 3697 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Russell and Jean Lee conducted 1964 June 2, by Richard Doud, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Russell speaks of his background and education; his early interest in photography; meeting Roy Stryker and Ben Shahn; early assignments with FSA covering floods and droughts in the Midwest; overcoming technical problems while traveling around; cameras he experimented with; working in small towns and rural areas; working under Roy Stryker. He recalls John Vachon, Arthur Rothstein, and Walker Evans. Jean speaks of her first association with the FSA and working under Paul Vanderbilt. Both give personal opinions of the value of the work produced by the FSA, and speak of feelings toward the rural people who were the focus of the FSA project.