Ryan Evans
Scope and Contents
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.
Language
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated in 2018 by the Lee Hall Estate via Carolyn Crozier and Deborah Jacobson, co-executors.
Separated Materials
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.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Ryan Evans in 2019.