National Museum of the American Indian

Lee Marmon photographs

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAI.AC.054
Creators:
Marmon, Lee
Dates:
circa 1950-1987
Languages:
No linguistic content; Not applicable
.
Physical Description:
94 Photographic prints
black and white; color
Repository:
The Lee Marmon photographs collection contains 94 color and black and white photographic prints. Subjects include Laguna and Acoma elders (1950-1965), publicity images of celebrities (1967-1973), Native American portraiture (circa 1987), the New Mexico pueblos and landscape, and the potter Lucy M. Lewis, her daughters, and their pottery (1987). The photographs were shot by Lee Marmon (Laguna Pueblo), circa 1950-1987.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The Lee Marmon photographs collection contains 94 color and black and white photographic prints that were shot by Laguna Pueblo photographer Lee Marmon, circa 1950-1987. Subjects include people, sites, and landscapes around Laguna Pueblo and Acoma Pueblo (1950-1965) in New Mexico; publicity images of celebrities (1967-1973) including Bob Hope and Dean Martin; Native American portraiture (circa 1987);and the potter Lucy M. Lewis, her daughters, and their pottery (1987).

Arrangement note

Arrangement note
Small prints organized in photo folders; and larger prints are stored in oversize boxes.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Lee Howard Marmon was born as the second son of Lily and Henry "Hank" Marmon on September 25, 1925 in Laguna, New Mexico. Marmon's interest in photography was sparked when he took his first photograph at the age of 11 of an automobile accident on Route 66. Initially planning to attend the University of New Mexico to study geology, Marmon dropped out after several semesters to begin his World War II career as a Sergeant-Major on Shemya Island, Alaska in 1943. Marmon's service to the United States in the Aleutian chain lasted until 1946, after which he returned to Laguna.
Marmon retained an interest in photography and purchased his first professional camera, a 2¼ x 2¾ Speed Graphic. Later in his career, he would use a 4x5 Speed Graphic, a Rolleiflex, a Hasselblad Superwide, and a Hasselblad C model. When Marmon began photographing, he favored Kodachrome sheet film (ASA 8) and super speed B&W (ASA 100). As Marmon was learning this new hobby, his civilian life included employment as the Laguna postmaster and as a worker in his father's store, The Laguna Trading Post. Photography escalated from a hobby to a more serious pursuit after Marmon's father suggested that his son bring a camera along while making store deliveries in order to take portraits of the Laguna elders. These early black and white photographs, taken using fixed-lens cameras and natural light, became some of Marmon's most well-known images.
While Marmon mainly focused on documenting the traditions and lifestyles of the Laguna and Acoma Pueblos, a departure from this theme occurred when he moved from New Mexico to Palm Springs, California in 1966. As the official photographer for the Bob Hope Desert Classic Golf Tournament from 1967 until 1973, Marmon took publicity photographs of golfers participating in the competition along with celebrity entertainers and guests at the accompanying Bob Hope Ball. Marmon also worked as a freelance photographer throughout this time, contributing to publications such as Time Magazine and The Saturday Evening Post, working as a still photographer for Columbia Pictures, and completing a commission from President and Mrs. Nixon to photograph a collection of New Mexican Puebloan pottery.
Marmon moved back to Laguna in 1982, and in the following years he showed his work in a variety of venues, opened a bookstore called The Blue-Eyed Indian, and won an ADDY award for his contribution to the PBS documentary series, Surviving Columbus: The Story of the Pueblo People. In 2003, Marmon published a book, The Pueblo Imagination: Landscape and Memory in the Photography of Lee Marmon, in collaboration with his daughter, author Leslie Marmon Silko, and poets Joy Harjo and Simon Ortiz. The book was heralded as a success, collecting first place awards from The Mountains and Plains Bookseller's Association and from Independent Publisher Online.
After the publication of his book, Marmon's photographic activity began to diminish. His final show, Pueblo Faces and Places, was held in 2007 at the Sky City Cultural Center in Acoma, New Mexico. In recognition for achievements in the photographic field, Marmon was honored as the 88th Annual Inter-Tribal Ceremonial's "Living Treasure" of 2009, the first photographer to be given the award. Throughout his life, Marmon produced a great volume of work. In May of 2009, he donated his personal papers and over 65,000 photographs to the Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections (CSWR) at the University of New Mexico. From a humble beginning of taking photographs of village elders, Marmon eventually built a career out of saving the memories of the Laguna and Acoma tribes and is now one of the country's best-known Native American photographers.
Lee Marmon passed away in March 2021 at age 95.

Administration

Author
Emily Moazami
Processing Information note
Collection finding aid updated by Emily Moazami, 2023.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Copyright held by the Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections at the University of New Mexico.
Conditions Governing Access note
Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Preferred Citation note
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Lee Marmon photographs, image #, NMAI.AC.054; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
New Mexico Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Portraits Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of North America Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Laguna Pueblo Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Acoma Pueblo Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lewis, Lucy M. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Eisenhower, Mamie Doud, 1896-1979 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bolger, Ray Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hope, Bob, 1903-2003 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Museum of the American Indian
4220 Silver Hill Rd
Suitland, Maryland 20746-2863
Business Number: Phone: 301.238.1400
Fax Number: Fax: 301.238.3038
nmaiarchives@si.edu