Doris Lee
Encyclopedia
Doris Emrick Lee was born in Illinois
and was an American folk artist who was known for her figurative painting and printmaking. She won the Logan Medal of the arts
from the Chicago Art Institute in 1935.
She attended Ferry Hall in Lake Forest, Illinois
from 1920-22. She graduated from Rockford College
in 1927 and in 1929 with the American Impressionist
Ernest Lawson
at the Kansas City Art Institute
, and in 1930 she attended the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco.
Her career took off in 1935, when her painting “Thanksgiving Dinner” won the Logan Prize in the annual show at the Art Institute of Chicago
. As a Works Progress Administration
artist during the 1930s, she was commissioned to create several murals by the United States Treasury Department in Washington, DC. In 1937 Lee painted two murals in the Main Post Office in Washington, DC and another in the Summerville, Georgia
Post Office
. That same year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
acquired her painting Catastrophe 1936, for its permanent collection. During the 1930s and 1940s she also created a number of lithographs for the Associated American Artists
.
She taught at Michigan State University
and Colorado Springs Fine Art Center and she also worked as a magazine and book illustrator. She was married to the artist Arnold Blanch
in 1939 and for many years she lived and worked in Woodstock, NY and for a while she maintained a studio in New York City
.
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and was an American folk artist who was known for her figurative painting and printmaking. She won the Logan Medal of the arts
Logan Medal of the arts
The Logan Medal of the Arts was an arts prize initiated in 1907 and associated with the Art Institute of Chicago. From 1917 through 1940, 270 awards were given....
from the Chicago Art Institute in 1935.
She attended Ferry Hall in Lake Forest, Illinois
Lake Forest, Illinois
Lake Forest is an affluent city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The city is south of Waukegan along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest was founded around Lake Forest College and was laid out as a town in...
from 1920-22. She graduated from Rockford College
Rockford College
Rockford College is a private American liberal arts college in Rockford, Illinois. It was founded in 1847 as Rockford Female Seminary and changed its name in 1892. The college is known as the alma mater of Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams, who was a member of the class of...
in 1927 and in 1929 with the American Impressionist
American Impressionism
Impressionism, a style of painting characterized by loose brushwork and vivid colors, was practiced widely among American artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.-An emerging artistic style from Paris:...
Ernest Lawson
Ernest Lawson
Ernest Lawson was a Canadian-American painter and a member of The Eight, a group of artists which included the group's leaders Robert Henri, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Maurice Prendergast, George Luks, and William J. Glackens...
at the Kansas City Art Institute
Kansas City Art Institute
The Kansas City Art Institute is a private, independent, four-year college of fine arts and design founded in 1885 in Kansas City, Missouri....
, and in 1930 she attended the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco.
Her career took off in 1935, when her painting “Thanksgiving Dinner” won the Logan Prize in the annual show at the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
. As a Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
artist during the 1930s, she was commissioned to create several murals by the United States Treasury Department in Washington, DC. In 1937 Lee painted two murals in the Main Post Office in Washington, DC and another in the Summerville, Georgia
Summerville, Georgia
Summerville is a city in Chattooga County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,556 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Chattooga County.- Geography :Summerville is located at ....
Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
. That same year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
acquired her painting Catastrophe 1936, for its permanent collection. During the 1930s and 1940s she also created a number of lithographs for the Associated American Artists
Associated American Artists
Associated American Artists is an art gallery and business established in 1934 in New York City. The gallery marketed art to the middle classes, first in the form of affordable prints and later in home furnishings and accessories, and played a significant role in the growth of art as an...
.
She taught at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
and Colorado Springs Fine Art Center and she also worked as a magazine and book illustrator. She was married to the artist Arnold Blanch
Arnold Blanch
Arnold Blanch , was born and raised in Mantorville, Minnesota. He was an American modernist painter, etcher, illustrator, lithographer, muralist, printmaker and art teacher. His modernist paintings are associated with the Social Realist movement. Blanch met his first wife the painter Lucile Blanch,...
in 1939 and for many years she lived and worked in Woodstock, NY and for a while she maintained a studio in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
External links
- National Gallery of Art Biography
- http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/lee64.htm, Smithsonian Archives of American Art Interview with Doris Lee, 1964 retrieved November 19, 2007
- Offering a Painter for History’s Reconsideration by Roberta Smith for the New York Times