Russell Lee Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Russell Lee Art Value Price Guide

Jul. 11, 2024
Russell Lee (1903-1986): School Children, San Augustine, Texas
Est: $100 - $200
Gelatin silver print, 1939, unsigned, with the Farm Security Administration inkstamp on the reverse. 9 7/8 x 7 in. (sight), 16 1/4 x 13 1/2 in. (frame).
STAIR
Mar. 23, 2024
(2) RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) SIGNED GREAT DEPRESSION SUBJECT PHOTOGRAPH & MONOGRAPH
Est: $200 - $400
(lot of 2) Framed photographic print, "Unemployed, Winter of 1935-36, New York City," signed lower right Russell Lee (American, 1903-1986), label verso for Garner & Smith Gallery, Austin, Texas, sight: approx 6.5"h, 9.25"w, overall: 13.25"h, 16"w, 3.25lbs, together with (1) book: "Russell Lee / Photographer," F. Jack Hurley, Morgan & Morgan, Inc., 1978, housed in slipcase, signed on titled page by Russell Lee and F. Jack Hurley, approx 9.75"h, 12"w, 1"d, 3.5lbs
Austin Auction Gallery
Sep. 23, 2023
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) TWO PHOTOGRAPHS, "Farmer with Pipe" and "Farmhouse Interior," CIRCA 1936-1937
Est: $200 - $400
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) TWO PHOTOGRAPHS, "Farmer with Pipe" and "Farmhouse Interior," CIRCA 1936-1937, two gelatin silver prints, produced for the Farm Security Administration, "Farmer with Pipe," signed and dated in pencil on the back mat, "Russell Lee 1936," 9 3/4" x 6 3/4", framed 21 3/4" x 17 3/4"; "Farmhouse Interior," 6 3/4" x 9", framed 21" x 17 1/4".
Simpson Galleries, LLC
Sep. 23, 2023
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) TWO PHOTOGRAPHS, "Girl Holding Her Cat" and "Girl Brushing Her Hair," CIRCA 1937
Est: $200 - $400
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) TWO PHOTOGRAPHS, "Girl Holding Her Cat" and "Girl Brushing Her Hair," CIRCA 1937, two gelatin silver print photographs, produced for the Farm Security Administration, "Girl Holding Her Cat," 9 1/4" x 7", framed 21 x 17 1/4"; "Girl Brushing Her Hair," 7" x 9 1/4", framed 17 1/4" x 21".
Simpson Galleries, LLC
Sep. 12, 2023
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986), Community Sing, 1940
Est: $200 - $300
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Community Sing, 1940 bromide signed verso: Russell Lee 25.5 x 34cm PROVENANCE The Estate of Joyce Evans
Gibson's
Aug. 11, 2023
RUSSELL LEE, DAY LABORER EMPLOYED IN COTTON PICKING, LAKE DICK PROJECT, ARKANSAS, GELATIN SILVER PRINT
Est: $1,200 - $1,500
Artist: Russell Lee, American (1903 - 1986) Title: Day Laborer Employed in Cotton Picking, Lake Dick Project, Arkansas Year: Original: 1938 | Dated:1940 Medium: Gelatin Silver Print Edition: Image Size: 9 x 6 inches Frame Size: 17 x 15.5 inches
RoGallery
Jun. 14, 2023
F.S.A.: Farmer and Chilldren, Natchitoches, Louisiana, 1940; Farmer waiting for garage man, near Amite, Louisiana
Est: €400 - €600
Photographer: Marion Post Wolcott (1910-1990), Russell Lee (1903-1986). "Farmer and Children, Natchitoches, Louisiana", 1940; "Farmer waiting for garage man, near Amite, Louisiana" 1938. Printed 1970s. 2 ferrotyped gelatin silver prints. Each circa 20,7 x 25,5 cm. Each annotated and with number notations in pencil as well as Reproduced from the collection of the Library of Congress and other archive stamp on the verso. -- -- A few handling marks/dents, otherwise in good condition. -- -- Provenance: Galerie Taube, Berlin -- -- Exhibited: "Die USA der dreißiger Jahre in Fotografien", Galerie Taube, Berlin Sept.4-Oct. 2,1976. -- -- Lit.: Roy Stryker/Nancy Wood. In This Proud Land: America, 1935-1943 as seen in the FSA photographs. New York 1973, ill. pp. 80, 130. -- - Sollten Sie detailliertere Zustandsberichte wünschen, kontaktieren Sie uns bitte. / Should you need more detailed condition reports, please contact us.
Bassenge Auctions
Feb. 16, 2023
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Entrance to courthouse, Gatesville, Texas * Courthouse, Gatesville, Texas * Old timers in front of courthouse,
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Entrance to courthouse, Gatesville, Texas * Courthouse, Gatesville, Texas * Old timers in front of courthouse, San Augustine, Texas. Together, 3 silver prints, the images measuring 178x241 mm; 7x9 1/2 inches, and slightly smaller, the sheets slightly larger, each with Lee's F.S.A. stamp and a Farm Security Administration stamp, the typed title and date, and the RA number in pencil, on verso. 1939-40.
Swann Auction Galleries
Feb. 16, 2023
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) A selection of 4 photographs, including two images from the well-known Pie Town series.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) A selection of 4 photographs, including two images from the well-known Pie Town series. Silver prints, the images measuring 248x337 mm; 9 3/4x13 1/4 inches, and slightly smaller, the sheets slightly larger, each with Lee's signature in pencil or ink on verso, and one also with the title in pencil in an unknown hand, a third also with his address credit stamp, and the title and date also in pencil in an unknown hand, on verso. Circa 1939-40; printed circa 1980. Ice for sale, Harlingen, Texas, 1939 * Lunch at all day community sing, Pie Town, New Mexico, 1940 * Musicians, a farmer, his wife, and brother in close harmony, Pie Town, New Mexico, 1940 * Spanish-American women replastering an adobe house. This is done once a year. Chamisal, New Mexico, 1940 Provenance: The Estate of Evelyne Daitz, New York.
Swann Auction Galleries
Feb. 16, 2023
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Post office * Garage at Rawson, McKenzie County, North Dakota * Lumberjacks using peaveys to remove legs from b
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Post office * Garage at Rawson, McKenzie County, North Dakota * Lumberjacks using peaveys to remove legs from banks of Little Fork River near Little Fork, Minn. Together, 3 silver prints, the images measuring 191x238 mm; 7 1/2x9 3/8 inches, and slightly smaller, two of the sheets slightly larger, each with Lee's F.S.A. credit stamp and the Farm Security Administration stamp, two with typed titles (one with a date) and one with a typed credit line, and each with the RA number in pencil, on verso. Circa 1936-40.
Swann Auction Galleries
Nov. 12, 2022
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) TWO PHOTOGRAPHS, 20TH CENTURY,
Est: $200 - $400
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) TWO PHOTOGRAPHS, 20TH CENTURY, black and white photographs comprising, "Courtroom, San Augustine, Texas," and "Trio at Community Sing, Pie Town, New Mexico," 1940; each 9 1/2" x 12 1/2", framed 18" x 21".
Houston Auction Company
Nov. 12, 2022
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) A PHOTOGRAPH, "Lunch on Community Sing Day, Pie Town,"
Est: $100 - $200
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) A PHOTOGRAPH, "Lunch on Community Sing Day, Pie Town," black and white photograph, paper label verso; 9" x 12 3/4", framed 18" x 21".
Houston Auction Company
Oct. 01, 2022
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) TWO PHOTOGRAPHS, 20TH CENTURY,
Est: $200 - $400
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) TWO PHOTOGRAPHS, 20TH CENTURY, black and white photographs comprising "A Paul Jones Dance, Pie Town;" 8 1/2" x 12 3/4"; and "Jigger at Square Dance, Pie Town, 1940;" 13" x 10", each framed 21" x 18".
Simpson Galleries, LLC
Jun. 11, 2022
Russell LEE: "Farm Children..." - Gelatin Print
Est: $100 - $200
Russell Lee (American, 1903-1986) original FSA gelatin silver print, 1937, titled "Farm Children Playing on Hand Made Merry-Go-Round". [Image: 6 1/4" H x 9 1/4" W; Frame: 9 1/2" H x 12 7/8" W]. In good condition.
Roland Auctions NY
May. 26, 2022
RUSSELL LEE - PEDESTRIAN, WOODSTOCK, NEW YORK
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
Lot 107 Russell Lee American (1903-1986) Pedestrian, Woodstock, New York (1936/printed later) gelatin silver print affixed to mount signed verso sheet: 14 x 10 1/4 inches mat: 20 x 16 inches Provenance: from a Manhattan Collection
Capsule Gallery Auction
May. 21, 2022
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) TWO PHOTOGRAPHS, CHILDREN AND FAMILY, 20TH CENTURY,
Est: $200 - $400
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) TWO PHOTOGRAPHS, CHILDREN AND FAMILY, 20TH CENTURY, black and white photographs comprising "Children on Porch, West Virginia, 1946;" 9 3/4" x 12 3/4"; and "Woman and Child with Old Car, Pie Town, New Mexico, 1940," from the portfolio Pie Town, New Mexico; 9 1/2" x 12 3/4"; each framed 18" x 21".
Simpson Galleries, LLC
May. 21, 2022
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) TWO PHOTOGRAPHS, 20TH CENTURY,
Est: $200 - $400
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) TWO PHOTOGRAPHS, 20TH CENTURY, black and white photographs comprising "Post Office, Pie Town, New Mexico, 1940;" 9 1/2" x 12 1/2"; "Ice for Sale, Harlingen, Texas, 1939;" 9" x 12 3/4"; each framed 18" x 21".
Simpson Galleries, LLC
May. 21, 2022
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) THREE PHOTOGRAPHS, SIGNED, 20TH CENTURY,
Est: $300 - $500
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) THREE PHOTOGRAPHS, SIGNED, 20TH CENTURY, black and white gelatin silver prints comprising, "School Boy (Untitled)," signed L/R in ink; 9 1/2" x 7 1/2", framed 18 1/2" x 16"; "Waiting in Line (Untitled)," signed faintly in ink L/R; 6 1/2" x 9 1/4", framed 15 1/2" x 17 3/4"; "Porch with Children," signed L/R in ink; 7 1/2" x 10", framed 16 3/4" x 18 3/8".
Simpson Galleries, LLC
May. 21, 2022
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) TWO PHOTOGRAPHS, 20TH CENTURY,
Est: $200 - $400
RUSSELL LEE (American/Texas 1903-1986) TWO PHOTOGRAPHS, 20TH CENTURY, black and white photography comprising "Searching for the Best Place to Drill Water, 1941," signed verso, 8 1/2" x 12 3/4"; and "Children Playing," signed verso, 8 1/4" x 12 1/2"; each framed 18" x 21".
Simpson Galleries, LLC
May. 20, 2022
Russell LEE: "Farm Children..." - Gelatin Print
Est: $250 - $350
Russell Lee (American, 1903-1986) original FSA gelatin silver print, 1937, titled "Farm Children Playing on Hand Made Merry-Go-Round". Stamped and signed verso. [Image: 6 1/4" H x 9 1/4" W; Frame: 9 1/2" H x 12 7/8" W]. In good condition.
Roland Auctions NY
Mar. 26, 2022
Russell LEE: "Farm Children..." - Gelatin Print
Est: $800 - $1,200
Russell Lee (American, 1903-1986) original FSA gelatin silver print, 1937, titled "Farm Children Playing on Hand Made Merry-Go-Round". Stamped and signed verso. [Image: 6 1/4" H x 9 1/4" W; Frame: 9 1/2" H x 12 7/8" W]. In good condition.
Roland Auctions NY
Feb. 13, 2022
Russell Lee Original FSA Gelatin Silver Photograph
Est: $200 - $400
"Tomato Farmer After a Day's Work, Near E. Grand Forks, Minn.", circa 1930's/ 40's. Farm Securty Administration credit stamp, partial typed title, and pencil written number / letter notation to the reverse. Clear sharp image printed on gloss paper. Appears in excellent condition with trimmed margins. Butterfield & Butterfield consignment inventory label and lot tag to the mat reverse. 7 3.8" x 9 5/8".
District Auction
Jan. 27, 2022
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) A group of 5 photographs depicting the Southern United States.
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) A group of 5 photographs depicting the Southern United States. Silver prints, the images measuring 165.1x241.3 mm; 6 1/2x9 1/2 inches, and slightly larger, the sheets 203.2x254 mm; 8x10 inches, all but one with Lee's signature, and each with Lee's F.S.A. credit hand stamp and the title, date, and numeric notation, in pencil or typed, on verso. 1938-39. Southeast Missouri Farms. Son of sharecropper dressing in combination bedroom and corn crib, 1938 * Residents at Boothville, Louisiana sitting on dock, 1938 * Sewing cap into toe of boot. Cowboy bootmaking shop, Alpine, Texas, 1939 * Farmers in town, Spur, Texas, 1939 * Family living in Mays Avenue camp. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1939.
Swann Auction Galleries
Jan. 27, 2022
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) A group of 5 photographs depicting children.
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) A group of 5 photographs depicting children. Silver prints, the images measuring 177.8x244.5 to 336.6x266.7 mm; 7x9 5/8 to 13 1/4x10 1/2 inches, four sheets slightly larger, each with Lee's signature and a numeric notation, in ink or pencil, one with the title, date, and notations, in pencil, and one with Lee's F.S.A. credit hand stamp and the typed title and date, in ink, on verso. 1937-40; three printed 1970s. Coat rack in hall, grade school, San Augustine, Texas, 1939 * Young boy playing with truck, late 1930s * Two of the Bodray children in their home near Tipler, Wisconsin, 1937; printed 1970s * Children play with the goats at all day Sunday visiting, Pie Town, New Mexico, 1940; printed 1970s * Children at the blackboard, Lake Dick Project, Arkansas, 1938; printed 1970s.
Swann Auction Galleries
Jan. 27, 2022
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Game of cards, bunkhouse of strawberry pickers near Hammond, Louisiana * Gathering Lettuce, Yuma County, Arizon
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Game of cards, bunkhouse of strawberry pickers near Hammond, Louisiana * Gathering Lettuce, Yuma County, Arizona. Together, 2 silver prints, the images measuring 177.8x238.1 and 250.8x330.2 mm; 7x9 3/8 and 9 7/8x13 inches, the first on a trimmed United States Department of Agriculture exhibition mount 196.9x260.4 mm; 7 3/4x10 1/4 inches, with a numeric hand stamp; the second with Lee's F.S.A. credit hand stamp, title, in red pencil, and numeric notation, in pencil, on verso. 1939.
Swann Auction Galleries
Jun. 19, 2021
Russell Lee, Electric Welding, Seminole, OK, 1939
Est: $800 - $1,000
Russell Lee, Seminole, Okla., Aug 1939. Electric welding, an essential part of oil field activities., 1939, Vintage gelatin silver print, Image 6.5" x 9.5", Paper 8" x 10". Typed caption affixed to verso. "Welding" in pencil on verso". Number stamped on verso. Number in pencil on verso.
Keith Delellis Gallery LLC
Jun. 16, 2021
F.S.A.: New Iberia, Louisiana
Est: €400 - €600
Photographer: Russell Lee (1903-1986). New Iberia, Louisiana; "Traveling evangelists still preaching the gospel and sharpening knives to pay expenses after 25 years on the road, near Scott, Louisiana". 1938/printed circa 1974 by the Library of Congress. 2 ferrotyped gelatin silver prints. Each circa 20 x 25 cm. Each with Reproduced from the collection of the Library of Congress stamp, archive stamp and annotations/layout marks in pencil on the verso. - - Some handling marks/dents, one print with small nick in left edge, otherwise in good condition. - - Provenance: Galerie Taube, Berlin - - Exhibited: "Die USA der dreißiger Jahre in Fotografien", Galerie Taube, Berlin Sept.4-Oct. 2,1976. - - Lit.: Roy Stryker/Nancy Wood. In This Proud Land: America, 1935-1943 as seen in the FSA photographs. New York 1973, ill. pp. 15, 95. - - Sollten Sie detailliertere Zustandsberichte wünschen, kontaktieren Sie uns bitte. / Should you need more detailed condition reports, please contact us.
Bassenge Auctions
Jun. 16, 2021
F.S.A.: Refugees in a schoolhouse, Sikeston, Missouri
Est: €400 - €600
Photographer: Russell Lee (1903-1986). Refugees in a schoolhouse, Sikeston, Missouri. 1937/printed 1970s by the Library of Congress. Ferrotyped gelatin silver print. 20,5 x 25,5 cm. Annotated and with number notations in pencil as well as Reproduced from the collection of the Library of Congress and other archive stamp on the verso. - - Some handling marks/dents, otherwise in good condition. - - Provenance: Galerie Taube, Berlin - - Exhibited: "Die USA der dreißiger Jahre in Fotografien", Galerie Taube, Berlin Sept.4-Oct. 2,1976. - - Lit.: Roy Stryker/Nancy Wood. In This Proud Land: America, 1935-1943 as seen in the FSA photographs. New York 1973, ill. p. 55. - - Sollten Sie detailliertere Zustandsberichte wünschen, kontaktieren Sie uns bitte. / Should you need more detailed condition reports, please contact us.
Bassenge Auctions
May. 27, 2021
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Saturday night in a saloon, Craigville, Minnesota * Farm Family after evening meal, Pie Town, New Mexico * Wome
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Saturday night in a saloon, Craigville, Minnesota * Farm Family after evening meal, Pie Town, New Mexico * Women seated outside Together, 3 silver prints, the images measuring 9 3/4x13 1/8 inches (24.8x33.3 cm.), and slightly smaller, the sheets 11x14 inches (27.9x39.6 cm.), each with Lee's signature, in pencil or ink, and one with Lee's credit hand stamp, on verso. 1937; printed circa 1980
Swann Auction Galleries
Mar. 23, 2021
Russell Lee, Grocery Store and Filling Station, Cimarron, Col.
Est: $800 - $1,000
Russell Lee Grocery Store and Filling Station, Cimarron, Col. c. 1940 vintage gelatin silver print 8.25 h × 10 w in (21 × 25 cm) Stamped studio mark to verso 'Please Credit F.S.A. Farm Security Administration Photo by Lee'. Titled to verso 'Grocery Store and Filling Station, Cimarron, Col. This is a Sheeping Center'. condition: Sheet is tipped at each corner in matting. Minor compression to corners while not affecting image. Few soft handling marks and small fingerprints visible in raking light. Unframed and matted measuring 19.75 x 16 inches.
Rago Arts and Auction Center
Feb. 04, 2021
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Christmas dinner, Smithfield, Iowa * Children of the Coal Miners, Appalachia * Coal Miner's Children at Home,
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Christmas dinner, Smithfield, Iowa * Children of the Coal Miners, Appalachia * Coal Miner's Children at Home, Appalachia. Silver prints, the images measuring approximately 260.4x330.2 mm; 10 1/4x13 inches, the sheets slightly larger, the first with Lee's signature, in pencil, and the title, also in pencil, in an unknown hand, on verso, and the other two with his signature and printing notations, in pencil, the title and negative date, also in pencil, in an unknown hand, and his Austin, Texas hand stamp, on verso. 1936, 1946 (2); printed circa 1980. From the Estate of Evelyne Z. Daitz, New York.
Swann Auction Galleries
Feb. 04, 2021
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Part of novelty race at Imperial County Fair, California.
Est: $800 - $1,200
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Part of novelty race at Imperial County Fair, California. Ferrotyped silver print, the image measuring 177.8x244.5 mm; 7x9 5/8 inches, the sheet 206.4x254 mm; 8 1/8x10 inches, with Lee's F.S.A. credit hand stamp and the typed caption and date, on verso. 1942.
Swann Auction Galleries
Feb. 04, 2021
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Mother with three children in front of log house.
Est: $800 - $1,200
RUSSELL LEE (1903-1986) Mother with three children in front of log house. Silver print, the image measuring 254x336.6 mm; 10x13 1/4 inches, the sheet slightly larger, with Lee's signature and numeric notation, in ink, on verso. 1930s; printed circa 1980. From the Estate of Evelyne Z. Daitz, New York. In 1936, Russell Lee was introduced to Roy Stryker of the FSA by artist Ben Shahn. Lee was assigned to document the West and Midwest United States, focusing particularly on migrant workers, sharecroppers, and itinerant farmers. Lee's work was distinctive as he was a pioneer in the use of flash for indoor photography.
Swann Auction Galleries
Dec. 17, 2020
Russell Lee, Child of Migrant Worker, FSA c. 1938
Est: $1,000 - $1,200
Russell Lee, Child of Migrant Worker, c. 1938, Vintage gelatin silver print, 10" x 8". Matted. Library of Congress stamp on verso. Numbered in pencil on verso. FSA photograph. Russell Werner Lee (1903-1986) was born in Ottawa, Illinois and graduated from Lehigh University in 1925 with a degree in engineering. In 1935 Lee began to experiment with a camera and to photograph miners and record conditions in Pennsylvania coalmines. His growing interest in social issues and his affinity for photography as a means of recording social conditions brought him in contact with other visual artists, among them Pare Lorentz and Ben Shahn, whose work he admired. He heard that Shahn was involved with the documentation program of the Historic Division of the Resettlement Administration, later renamed the Farm Security Administration, headed by Roy Stryker. As part of the team that also included Dorothea Lange, Arthur Rothstein and Walker Evans, Lee's primary task was to document rural communities with the goal of making urban Americans aware of the plight of tenant farmers, sharecroppers, and migrant workers stricken by drought and the Great Depression. Stryker assigned Lee to cover the Midwest and the West Coast, where he typically stayed on the road much longer than expected. Lee made some of his better-known early photographs in rural Iowa in 1936. He traveled throughout Texas and New Mexico between 1939 and 1940. During the 1940's, Lee's distinctive work appeared in hundreds of newspapers and popular journals including Life, Look, Fortune, U.S. Camera, and Survey Graphic. Shortly after the U.S. entered World War II, the Historical Division transferred to the jurisdiction of the Office of War Information. Lee left the FSA group and joined the Air Transport Command as a captain, assigned to take aerial surveillance photographs as well as documenting local conditions on the ground. When the war ended, Lee resigned his commission and in 1947 he moved to Austin, Texas. From 1965 to 1973 he taught photography at the University of Texas. Although Lee often traveled as a free-lance photographer on assignment for magazines, corporations, the federal government, and the University, Austin remained his home and Texas a major focus of his work until his death in 1986. (Howard Greenberg Gallery)
Keith Delellis Gallery LLC
Dec. 05, 2020
RUSSELL LEE Diner South Dakota 1937
Est: $400 - $600
RUSSELL LEE, Williams County, South Dakota, 1937, 6.5x9.375" Gelatin silver print, Printed c. 1944, Annotations in pencil on print verso; Library of Congress reproduction stamp. Russell Lee captured Main Street in a small town in South Dakota. Russell Lee (1903-1986) began his study of photography in 1935, ten years after earning a degree from Lehigh University (Pennsylvania) in chemical engineering. Photography, he thought, would aid his ability as a painter studying in San Francisco and at the Woodstock art colony (New York) in the early 1930s. His career took an abrupt shift when he was invited by Roy Stryker to join the government's Historical Section of the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Lee worked from 1936 to 1943 as a prolific photographer in the FSA combining his keen sense of documentary with an engineerâs precise mastery of lighting (especially flash photography). Stryker called him a "taxonomist with a camera." Besides making more FSA negatives than any other photographer, Lee was one of the first to utilize new color photography materials in his recording of people and events in Pie Town, New Mexico. After leaving the FSA, Lee continued to work for various government agencies until 1947 when Standard Oil of New Jersey hired him. His industrial images were printed in Fortune and in The New York Times. A second career spanned the years 1956 to 1973 while Lee was on the teaching faculty of the University of Missouri, and later at the University of Texas at Austin. Despite an education in engineering, Lee's images and teachings never underplayed the role of photography as an objective witness to call attention to the pride and prejudice that characterized society in the mid-1900s. Credit Luminous Lint.
Andrew Smith Gallery Photography Auctions, LLC
Oct. 17, 2020
Russell Lee, Milking Cows. F.S.A. print, Lee's description
Est: $1,200 - $2,000
Russell Lee, Milking Cows. 11 x 14 inch vintage gelatin silver print on heavy paper, Ca. 1940. It has the F.S.A. negative number in pencil on the verso, but doesn't have the F.S.A. credit stamp. Lee's name, possibly a signature, is in very light pencil. This is a special print as Lee has written extensive technical notes on the verso.
Be-Hold
Oct. 17, 2020
Russell Lee. Day laborer wife doorway of half canvas half lumber house near Oklahoma City."
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
Russell Lee. "Day laborer and his wife standing in doorway of the half canvas half lumber house near Oklahoma City." 14 x 11 inch vintage gelatin silver print on single weight paper. Lee has written the description in pen on the verso, with the negative number in pencil.
Be-Hold
Oct. 17, 2020
Russell Lee, "Cajun mother and child near New Iberia, Louisiana."
Est: $2,400 - $3,500
Russell Lee, "Cajun mother and child near New Iberia, Louisiana." 10 x 13 1/2 inch toned gelatin silver print on double weight paper. Lee has written the title and technical notes about the camera, developing and printing. This is a terrific print of a masterful photograph with plenty to look at.
Be-Hold
Oct. 17, 2020
Russell Lee, Farm mother, child. Lee's description Muskogee, Okla.
Est: $2,200 - $3,000
Russell Lee, 11 x 14 inch vintage gelatin silver print on single weight paper. "Farm mother and child at pie supper near Muskogee, Okla." Lee wrote the title and technical notes about camera over the glue residue where a title slip had come off. The negative number is on the verso. The wonderful composition shows the mother, the sleeping child, and the sleeping baby above.
Be-Hold
Jun. 10, 2020
F.S.A.: New Iberia, Louisiana
Est: €600 - €800
Photographer: Russell Lee (1903-1986). New Iberia, Louisiana; "Traveling evangelists still preaching the gospel and sharpening knives to pay expenses after 25 years on the road, near Scott, Louisiana. 1938/printed circa 1974 by the Library of Congress. 2 ferrotyped gelatin silver prints. Each circa 20 x 25 cm. Each with Reproduced from the collection of the Library of Congress stamp, archive stamp and annotations/layout marks in pencil on the verso. Handling marks/dents, otherwise in good condition. Provenance: Galerie Taube, Berlin Exhibited: "Die USA der dreißiger Jahre in Fotografien", Galerie Taube, Berlin Sept.4 - Oct. 2,1976. Lit.: Roy Stryker/Nancy Wood. In This Proud Land: America, 1935-1943 as seen in the FSA photographs. New York 1973, ill. pp. 15, 95. - Sollten Sie detailliertere Zustandsberichte wünschen, kontaktieren Sie uns bitte. / Should you need more detailed condition reports, please contact us.
Bassenge Auctions
Jun. 10, 2020
F.S.A.: Craigville, Minnesota
Est: €500 - €750
Photographer: Russell Lee (1903-1986). Craigville, Minnesota. 1937/printed 1970s by the Library of Congress. Ferrotyped gelatin silver print. 20,5 x 25,5 cm. Annotated and with number notations in pencil as well as Reproduced from the Collections of the Library of Congress and other archive stamp on the verso. Some handling marks/dents, especially in lower right, otherwise in good condition. Provenance: Galerie Taube, Berlin Exhibited: "Die USA der dreißiger Jahre in Fotografien", Galerie Taube, Berlin Sept.4 - Oct. 2,1976. Lit.: Roy Stryker/Nancy Wood. In This Proud Land: America, 1935-1943 as seen in the FSA photographs. New York 1973, ill. p. 79. - Sollten Sie detailliertere Zustandsberichte wünschen, kontaktieren Sie uns bitte. / Should you need more detailed condition reports, please contact us.
Bassenge Auctions
Feb. 23, 2020
Photograph, Russell Lee
Est: $400 - $600
Russell Lee (American, 1903-1986), "Outside the Regal Theatre on 47th," 1941, gelatin silver print, unsigned, sight: 7"h x 9.5"w, overall (with frame): 15.75"h x 17.5"w
Clars Auctions
Dec. 15, 2019
Russell Lee (1903-1986), "Coal Miner Resting After Work, Kentucky, 1946"
Est: $600 - $900
One gelatin silver print by Russell Lee (American, 1903-1986) titled "Coal Miner Resting After Work, Kentucky. (1946). It is inscribed on the reverse. "Coal Miner Resting After Work, Kentucky, 1946". It is 10" high x 12 ¾" wide. Framed under glass.
Caza Sikes
Oct. 19, 2019
Russell Lee: Saying grace before the barbeque dinner at the Pie Town, New Mexico Fair, October 1940, printed 1986, dye transfer print
Est: $2,400 - $4,800
Saying grace before the barbeque dinner at the Pie Town, New Mexico Fair, October 1940, printed 1986, dye transfer print, credit and copyright stamps verso, with inscriptions in pencil by an unknown hand. Print signed by Tennyson Schad., Image size: 6.5"x10"; Sheet Size: (Courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery)
The Photo Review
Sep. 11, 2019
RUSSELL LEE, (AMERICAN, 1903–1986), CHICAGO HOUSING
Est: $200 - $300
RUSSELL LEE (american, 1903–1986) CHICAGO HOUSING 1941, (printed ca. 1970s). Title, dates, and code in pencil in an unknown hand, and "Reproduced from the Collections of the Library of Congress" label on verso. Gelatin silver print. Image: 9 1/2 x 7 1/4 in. (24.1 x 18.4cm). Sheet: 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3cm). Russell Lee worked for the Farm Security Administration documenting rural communities affected by the drought and the Great Depression.
Freeman's | Hindman
Aug. 10, 2019
Russell Lee, Black mother and child on porch. Vintage matte gelatin silver print on heavy paper, 1936.
Est: $6,000 - $7,500
Russell Lee, Black mother and child on porch. 10 x 13 Â½ vintage matte gelatin silver print on heavy paper, 1936. A boy is sitting in the doorway. No credit but number"11804-MI" in pencil on the verso. Provenance: The Doris Lee estate to present owner.
Be-Hold
Aug. 10, 2019
Russell Lee, Black flood refugees, 1936. Gelatin silver print with Lee's "Resettlement Administration" stamp and pencil inscription on the verso
Est: $6,000 - $7,500
Russell Lee, Black flood refugees, 1936. 8 x 10 - inch gelatin silver print with Lee's "Resettlement Administration" stamp and pencil inscription on the verso: It reads "Colored flood refugees housed in the Baptist Church at Sikeston Missouri." Number "Ra 10466-D" also written in pencil on the verso. This is a very rare vintage print of a grim subject. Provenance: From the Doris Lee estate to present owner.
Be-Hold
Dec. 10, 2017
Russell Lee, (American, 1903-1986), "Sign on Side of Shoe Shine Parlor, San Antonio, Texas", 1939, gelatin silver print, 10-1/8" x 8...
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Russell Lee (American, 1903-1986) "Sign on Side of Shoe Shine Parlor, San Antonio, Texas", 1939 gelatin silver print Matted. 10-1/8" x 8-1/4"
New Orleans Auction Galleries