Doris Lee (1905-1983)

Hometown Girl

Opening Reception June 8, 2007 5-8pm on exhibit through mid July

The heirs of the artist are graciously allowing us to include this excellent selection of works from the Doris Lee estate in our WAAM Labor Day fine art auction. These pieces will be on display in our gallery for the month of June. Any on the these works may be purchased on Sunday, September 2nd at the benefit auction that we co-sponsor with and for the Woodstock Artists Association and Museum. Doris Lee is one of a handful of artists' estates that will be featured in this year's annual benefit auction. For information on attending the auction or bidding by order or phone bid please see our web-page describing the event or call us here at the gallery at 845-679-7608.

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Abstract Forms 23x15.5 oil on board signed lower right	Ballet Dancer 46x22 oil on canvas signed lower right	Barns 6x9.25 charcoal on paper signed lower right
Bathroom Nude 14x12 oil on canvas signed lower right	Bird and Vine Poster 17.5x12.5 silk-screen estate stamped	Cornfield 9x9.75 lithograph signed lower right
Cottage and Garden 9.5x13.25 pencil on paper signed lower right	Elsa Lanchester 19x15 oil on canvas signed lower right	Flowering Trees & Cows 17.5x22.5 silk-screen signed lower right
Haying 7.5x13.25 pencil on paper signed lower right	Leaning Nude 17x10 oil on board signed upper right	Little Girl-Yellow Hat 17x14 gouache & pencil on paper signed lower right
Nude-Abstract 32x40 oil on canvas signed lower right	Pear tree 7x9 (sight) lithograph estate stamp	Pensive Bather 8x8 (sight) watercolor on paper estate stamp
Quillow 5x5 pen, ink & watercolor on paper signed lower right	Reflections-Horse & Woman 20.5x17.75 silkscreen ed.1/5 signed lower right	River Bathers 11x16 (sight) lithograph initialed in plate estate stamp
Rooster 5.75x3.75 (sight) lithograph estate stamp	Sunbather 27x42 oil on canvas signed on stretcher

Biography from AskART:

An American scene painter of realistic subjects in a style that combined realism and modernism, she settled in Woodstock, New York, having followed her teacher and husband, Arnold Blanch. Her subject matter reflects her Midwestern heritage as well as big-city industrial scenes and shows her wide-ranging quest for a national identity, which was typical of many of her peers in the 1930s.

In 1935, she got national attention for her painting, Thanksgiving, which, painted in a carefree naive manner, showed a kitchen scene of bustling, humorous activity. The work won the Logan Purchase Prize at the Art Institute of Chicago, but Mrs. Logan, the sponsor of the contest, was so angered by the choice that she launched a campaign calling for sanity in art. However, the painting proved to be very popular and was reproduced many times as postcards and prints.

Lee was born in Aledo, Illinois, and grew up in a well-ordered domestic environment with women making quilts and pursuing other craft-oriented activities. She graduated from Rockford College, Illinois in 1927 and then studied at the Kansas City Art Institute with impressionist Ernest Lawson and in Paris with cubist Andre L'Hote. Early in her career, she married photographer Russell Lee, a relationship that terminated. In 1930, she studied in San Francisco with Arnold Blanch, whom she married in 1939, and he was the major influence on her signature style, encouraging her to work from nature and paint real-life subjects.

In 1931, they moved to Woodstock, New York where she was active in the local art association and found inspiration of her paintings of local scenes. She remained there until her death in 1983, but she also spent much time in Key West Florida

She won two mural commissions in a contest sponsored by the United States Post Office department and completed works that were very much a part of the prevalent American scene painting. She also completed illustrations for Life magazine, won the Carnegie Prize in 1944, and co-authored a book with her husband titled It's Fun to Paint.

Source:
American Women Artists by Charlotte Streifer Rubinstein