Russell Lee at Hermiston
Russell Lee was an American photojournalist who in 1936 went to work for the federal Farm Security Administration documentation project.
Russell Lee in 1936
The FSA built a remarkable collection of 80,000 photographs of America during the Depression because they hired great photographers—Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Ben Shahn, Russell Lee, Carl Mydans and Gordon Parks, who crossed the U.S. to produce a “visual encyclopedia of American life.”
Lee is responsible for some of the most iconic images produced by the FSA. In September 1941, Lee visited Hermiston and took numerous photos in area communities.
After the FSA was de-funded in 1943, Lee produced photographs for Standard Oil of New Jersey and later became the first photography instructor at the University of Texas.
