Cecil Lee
Regents Professor of Art, Crosstimbers Editor of the ArtsBiography
Artist Cecil Lee spent 29 years in the classroom at the University of Oklahoma before coming to USAO in 1991. He is responsible for the opening and success of the Art Gallery at USAO. Lee was honored in 2009 for his "vision for an art gallery that would serve both the university and the larger community of Chickasha and Grady County."
While at OU, Lee expanded the art history offerings from eight courses in 1959 to 20 courses in 1965. He introduced the bachelor of fine arts degree in art and expanded the slide collection to a reasonable size to cover the expanded course offering. In 1967, he developed the bachelor's in art (art history) and master's in art programs at OU.
He received the Governor's Award in 1962 for founding a program for expanding the knowledge and understanding of art history in the state. With the cooperation and support of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, slides were circulated to public and private schools in the state. A teaching guide, student guide and statewide activities were developed to encourage the study of art history.
While serving as the director of the OU School of Art in 1966, Lee taught a liberal arts study course for the U.S. Air Force in Germany. While on sabbatical, he studied existential aesthetic and art theory in Basil. He also received the Governor's Award for his contributions in the arts in 1966.
Lee has developed interactive television courses, a television series for public television, and produced public lectures at USAO that were broadcast on cable television.
He has served as the general editor and fine arts editor of Crosstimbers--USAO's multicultural, interdisciplinary journal.
In 1991, Lee directed a special OU seminar at Oxford, Rewley House, on the Rise of the Augustans --team teaching with Oxford scholars. He has participated in more than 60 interdisciplinary seminars and courses during his career.
His work is in the archives of the Australian National Gallery, Canbera; Brooklyn Museum, New York; the Print Department of the Metropolitan Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, New York; New York Public Library; the libraries at the University of California and Santa Barbara, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and Yale University.
Education
- M.F.A., Ohio State University, 1956
- B.F.A., Ohio State University, 1956
