Russell Lee's FSA Photographs of Chamisal and Penasco, New Mexico

by Russell Lee

Book Overview

The New Deal and Folk Culture Series. 86 of the 250 photographs taken by Lee for the Farm Security Administration, July 1940. Remarkable portrait of the villagers, village life, adobe construction, handicrafts. Essays on Lee and the villages by Wroth (former curator of Taylor Museum), Charles L. Briggs (Vassar), Alan Fern (National Portrait Gallery).The thoughtfulness and thoroughness that went into the development of this book make it extraordinarily...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0941270238
• ISBN13: 9780941270236
• Release Date: January 1985
• Publisher: Ancient City Press
• Length: 139 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Photos that come alive

A rather different FSA photobook from the others in my collection. In July 1940 Russell Lee took, over two weeks, a serious of photos to make an in-depth record of a typical Hispanic community in New Mexico. The photos were to be published as a 'Spanish-American' story rather than the usual FSA images of rural poverty. The eighty-six (from more than 250) photos work so well to convey life in the two villages and surrounding area. The seven chapters cover: The Villages, Farming, Adobe construction, Handicrafts, Domestic scenes, The outside world and Religion. Lee's camera makes every shot count so that by the time you get to the last photo you'll get the feeling that perhaps you known these people more than the time it takes to turn the pages. The excellent captions, originally written by Lee's wife Jean have additional input from the two authors: William Wroth and Charles Briggs. I think this is a wonderful book of photos and my only criticism is that the paper (actually perfectly adequate) isn't better to really make these images sparkle. Surprisingly New Mexico has more FSA photobooks than any other state, look out for 'Far from Main Street' (ISBN 0890132593) with a hundred or so beautifully printed photos, 'Women of New Mexico' (ISBN 0941270548) and I can particularly recommend Nancy Wood's 'Heartland New Mexico' (ISBN 0826310729).