Artist

Cliff Lee

born Vienna, Austria 1951
Born
Vienna, Austria
Active in
  • Kaohsiung, Taiwan
  • Stevens, Pennsylvania, United States
Biography

Cliff Lee was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1951, where his father was stationed as ambassador. Lee began his education in Taiwan and moved to the United States in 1968 to attend Eastern Mennonite College, where he earned a degree in biology in 1971. He attended medical school in the 1970s at the Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania State College, specializing in neurosurgery. After starting work as a physician, and looking to reduce stress after long workdays, Lee enrolled in a ceramics class at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It was there that he found the two passions of his life: studio pottery and his future bride, Holly, a jewelry designer. Lee enrolled in the school's ceramics master's program and received his degree in 1976.

From the start, Lee and his wife have sold their own work. Their first gallery was in Arlington, Virginia, followed by the Georgetown section of Washington, DC. They currently live near Stevens, Pennsylvania, and sell work directly from their studio or at major craft shows such as the ACC Baltimore Show, the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, and the Smithsonian Craft Show. In 1993, President and Mrs. Clinton invited Lee to contribute to the White House Collection of American Crafts, an exhibition that toured the country. Lee's work is now included in the permanent collections of several museums, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery; the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, NC; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT; and the Racine Art Museum, Wisconsin. He has received numerous awards at craft shows. His work has been exhibited around the world and featured in publications, including Craft in America: Celebrating Two Centuries of Artists and Objects (2007) and the subsequent television series.

Nicholas Bell, Ulysses Grant Dietz, and Andrew Wagner History in the Making: Renwick Craft Invitational 2011 (Washington, D.C. and London: Smithsonian American Art Museum in association with Scala, 2011)

Works by this artist (81 items)

East Baltimore Documentary Survey Project
Dateca. 1975
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Linda Rich, Houses were built in close proximity to packing houses and canneries at the turn of the century, 1977-1980, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.1098, © 1975, George Jadowski
Houses were built in close proximity to packing houses and…
Date1977-1980
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Linda Rich, McElderry Park, 1979, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.1161, © 1975, George Jadowski
McElderry Park
Date1979
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Linda Rich, Neighborhood boys by the Bankard-Gunther Mansion, Butchers Hill. The mansion, built in 1864, was originally the home of a well-to-do butcher who amassed his fortune during the Civil War by selling his beef and pork products to the Union Army, 1977-1980, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.1154, © 1975, George Jadowski
Neighborhood boys by the Bankard-Gunther Mansion, Butchers…
Date1977-1980
gelatin silver print
Not on view

Exhibitions

Media - 2011.22A-C - SAAM-2011.22A-C_1 - 76568
History in the Making: Renwick Craft Invitational 2011
March 24, 2011July 30, 2011
History in the Making: Renwick Craft Invitational 2011 presents the work of silversmith Ubaldo Vitali, ceramic artist Cliff Lee, glass artist Judith Schaechter, and furnituremaker Matthias Pliessnig.

Related Books

rci2011_500.jpg
History in the Making: Renwick Craft Invitational 2011
Features four extraordinary artists whose work explores the deep roots of contemporary American craft and decorative arts: Ubaldo Vitali, Cliff Lee, Judith Schaechter, and Mathias Pliessnig. Authors Nicholas R. Bell, Ulysses Grant Dietz, and Andrew Wagner examine how each artist mines and transcends tradition.