Collection Guide
This document describes a Manuscript Collection held by the
Special Collections DepartmentUniversity of Iowa Libraries
e-mail: lib-spec@uiowa.edu
Guide Contents
Biographical and Historical Information
Scope and Contents of the Collection
Administrative Information
Access and
Restrictions:
Biographical Note
Edwin Lee Allen was
born in 1910 in Muscatine, Iowa. After graduating from East High School in
Des Moines, Iowa, in 1928, Mr. Allen enrolled at the Cumming School of Art
in Des Moines. (Cumming had founded the art departments at Cornell College
in 1880 and at the University of Iowa in 1909). In the fall of 1929 Mr. Allen
enrolled at the University of Iowa where he studied art.
In
1933, he was invited by renowned artist Grant Wood to work with him on a
series of public art projects funded by the federal Works Progress Administration
(WPA). Wood also introduced him to Diego Rivera, with whom he studied in
Mexico in 1935. It was there that Mr. Allen learned how to use the fresco
medium for murals for public buildings.
Numerous
mural projects and exhibitions followed, including the American Show at the
Art Institute of Chicago in 1936, where his painting Paul Bunyan and the
Blue Ox received critical praise. In 1937, Mr. Allen accepted the position
of medical illustrator at the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine,
Department of Ophthalmology, where he remained until his retirement in 1976.
During this time, he generally confined his artistic pursuits to medical
illustration. He did, however, continue to paint creatively during vacations
and prepared oil and relief portraits of numerous members of the College
of Medicine faculty. He was president of the Association of Medical Illustrators
in 1959, and was a founding member and the first president of the Ophthalmic
Photographer’s Society in 1969 as well as being president of the American
Society of Ocularists that year. He was also the author of numerous articles
and publications pertaining to ophthalmologic illustration.
Following
his retirement, Mr. Allen joined David Bulgarelli in private enterprise making
prosthetic eyes from a process Mr. Allen had initiated in 1945 for the Department
of Ophthalmology. He also resumed his work in paintings, drawings and sketches.
The preceding biographical note is based in part on
exhibit notes prepared by Pamela Trimpe, University of Iowa Museum of Art
Curator of Painting and Sculpture. The notes were prepared in 2000 for
exhibits by Mr. Allen at the University of Iowa Museum of Art and at the
Brunnier Art Museum, Iowa State University.
Scope and
Contents
The
collection is arranged in two series: paintings and photographic prints.
Each series is arranged first by depiction of left eye (“O.S.”)
and right eye (“O.D.”) activity. Within the O.S. and O.D. groupings
the images are arranged chronologically. Notes by the artist are on the
back of each image and generally include information about date, time,
and references to pre- and post-treatment, such as laser therapy. The notes
are transcribed in the box inventory below.
Photographs:
Related Materials
Allen, Lee. “The
Hole in My Vision: An Artist’s View of His Own Macular Degeneration.” Iowa
City, IA: Penfield Press, 2000. Includes a list of Mr. Allen’s publications.
Wong, D. and
Fishman, M. “Lee Allen: The Man, The Legend.” Journal of Ophthalmic
Photography. 12(2):51-67. 1990.
Acquisition and Processing Information
Guide
posted to Internet:
Box 1
Series I: Paintings
16 March 1995 – early
morning
27 January 1996
27 January 1996
10 August 1996 – 7:00
a.m.
O.D. [n.d.]
O.D. [n.d.]
O.D. 1988
O.D. 1989
O.D. March 1,
1996
O.D. June 9,
1996
O.D. June 24,
1996
O.D. June 26,
1996 – pen light illuminated through pupil
O.D. August 14,
1996 – 7:00 a.m. – upon waking before rising
O.D. August 14,
1996 – 7:15 a.m.
O.D. September
4, 1996
O.D. September
6, 1996 – 7:40 a.m.
O.D. September
11, 1996
O.D. September
11, 1996 – first noticed 10:30 p.m.; slowly disappeared over next 5
minutes
O.D. May 4, 1997 – before
second laser treatment
O.D. October
4, 1997
O.D. May 7, 1998 – 7:10
a.m.
O.S. 1988
O.S. 1994
O.S. 1994
O.S. July 8,
1995
O.S. July 27,
1995
O.S. July 27,
1995
O.S. January
27, 1996
O.S. March 1,
1996 – appears stable
O.S. June 5,
1996 – pen light illuminated through pupil
O.S. June 5,
1996
O.S. July 3,
1996 – 7:00 a.m.
O.S. July 15,
1996 – pen light illuminated through lid
O.S. July 18,
1996 – 5.5 hours post-laser
O.S. July 19,
1996
O.S. July 19,
1996
O.S. July 19,
1996
O.S. July 19,
1996
O.S. July 20,
1996
O.S. July 21,
1996 – pen light illuminated through pupil
O.S. August 18,
1996 – 5:00 a.m.
O.S. August 25,
1996 – 7:00 a.m.
O.S. September
22, 1996 – 11:30 a.m.
O.S. September
24, 1996 – 7:00 a.m. – day after third laser surgery
O.S. September
24, 1996 – 7:45 a.m.
O.S. October
7, 1996
O.S. October
17, 1996
O.S. October
17, 1996
O.S. October
23, 1996 – 10:30 p.m.
O.S. October
24, 1996 – 10:20 p.m.
O.S. October
24, 1996 – 10:20 p.m.
O.S. January
19, 1997 – six days before fourth laser surgery
O.S. January
20, 1997 – (lasered later; January 25, 1997)
O.S. April 20,
1997 – (lasered January 25, 1997)
Series II:
Photographic prints
Photographic
prints of most of the above-listed card paintings (48 prints)
