Power and Light
Opens March 16th
An exhibition of photographs by renowned documentary photographer Russell Lee telling the story of workers who helped build a nation. Russell Lee’s coal survey photographs honor a group of Americans, more diverse than we realized, who were mostly hidden from view.
Power & Light: Russell Lee’s Coal Survey is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of The Mars Family & Mars, Incorporated and Anonymous.
About the Exhibit
The Power & Light exhibition features more than 200 of Russell Leeʼs photographs of coal miners and their families in their homes, mines, and communities. Visitors will experience large-scale prints, projections, and digital interactives. Although Leeʼs earlier images of Depression-era Americans are well-known, his 1946 coal survey images have enjoyed little public exposure. The full series, which includes over 2,000 of Lee’s photographs, can only be found in the holdings of the National Archives. These images document inhumane living and working conditions, but also depict the joy, strength, and resilience of the minersʼ families and communities
Note: All photograph captions are original, as provided by the photographer. Unless otherwise noted, the images are in the holdings of the National Archives, Records of the Solid Fuels Administration for War.
About Russell Lee
Russell Werner Lee (1903-1986) was born in Ottawa, Illinois. Originally trained as an engineer, he was methodical in his work, but he approached his subjects with warmth and respect. The quiet Midwesterner put people at ease, enabling him to capture scenes of surprising intimacy. Many of his photographs reveal worlds through small details—keepsakes on the mantel, lined and calloused hands. What may be most distinctive about these images is their reflection of the photographerʼs respect for his subjects. Despite their plight, it is their strength, dignity, and humanity that strikes the viewer.
Although the coal survey photos represent some of Leeʼs finest work, his best-known photographs are from an earlier project. Lee was one of several photographers hired by the federal government in the 1930s to document the toll of the Great Depression and drought on rural Americans. While he worked alongside famous colleagues including Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange, Lee eschewed celebrity. He aimed to inspire social change, believing visual evidence of struggle and hardship could inspire reforms.
Upcoming Programs
Thursday, March 21 @ 7 pm
American Coal: Russell Lee Portraits
with authors Mary Appel and Doug Brinkley
Saturday, March 23 @ 2 pm
Film Screening of King Coal
in partnership with the
2024 Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital
Power & Light
Honorary Committee
Organizations
American Coal Council
America’s Power, Michelle Bloodworth President & CEO
Appalachian Regional Commission
National Association of Naval Photography
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and Jim Matheson, CEO
Professional Photographers of America
United Mine Workers of America
Individuals
Former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel
Lucian Perkins, Pulitzer Prize-winning Photographer & Filmmaker
Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker
Nicholas Lemann, author, journalist, and academic
Mary Jane Appel, Russell Lee biographer and photographic historian
Siobhan Bohnacker, former Photo Editor of The New Yorker and photographic scholar
Elected Officials
Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY)
Governor Spencer Cox (R-UT)
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM)
Governor Wes Moore (D-MD)
Governor JB Pritzker (D-IL)
Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-VA)
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)
U.S. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL)
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA)
U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV)
U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI)
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA)
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)
U.S. Representative Andy Barr (R-KY)
U.S. Representative Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
U.S. Representative Harriet Hageman (R-WY)
U.S. Representative Erin Houchin (R-IN)
U.S. Representative Greg Landsman (D-OH)
U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
U.S. Representative Susie Lee (D-NV)
U.S. Representative Carol Miller (R-WV)
U.S. Representative Alex Mooney (R-WV)
U.S. Representative C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD)
U.S. Representative Susan Wild (D-PA)
Russell Lee Photographs
