CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A large-scale portrait of Albert R. Lee, a pioneer for African American students on campus in the first half of the 20th century, is on display in the Student Dining and Residential Programs Building at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The chancellor’s office commissioned artist Patrick Earl Hammie, a professor in the School of Art and Design, to paint a portrait of Lee following the 2018 recognition of Lee and his legacy on the 70th anniversary of his death and the 50th anniversary of Project 500, an effort to increase enrollment of African American students.
The portrait will be dedicated Feb. 1. It was installed in the Student Dining and Residential Programs Building two years ago, but a dedication ceremony has been delayed due to the pandemic.
Hammie said he wanted to take a fresh, contemporary approach to the portrait.
“I want the portrait to not feel like it is from the 1920s and 1930s,” Hammie said. “Someone could approach it and feel like this person breathes now. From colors to presentation, I want people to feel this is a living, breathing person who is just as relevant and contemporary as he is storied.”
Lee is described as the first unofficial dean for African American students. During his 50 years working in the U. of I. president’s office, he helped students get admitted to the university, find housing in the homes of black community members when black students weren’t allowed to live or eat on campus, and find jobs.
The original vision for the portrait was of something smaller and more intimate that might hang in Swanlund Administration Building. But the scope expanded to something grander in scale.
“This portrait honors Albert R. Lee and recognizes his many contributions to the university, particularly his guidance to African American students,” Chancellor Robert Jones said. “His work on their behalf was integral to their well-being on campus and helped them to be successful here and go on to become leaders in their fields. When today’s students see his portrait, they can remember his leadership in supporting students that paved the way for future generations.”
Hammie considered a traditional full body pose of Lee, in the style of John Singer Sargent portraits, but he decided to zoom in on his face.
“My most pressing conceptual issue was how to make him resonate now and present him in a dignified way that is not stuffy,” Hammie said.
“I didn’t want knowing his story to be necessary for a sense of nurturing and empathy and lived experience. I want that to come through. I didn’t want the painting to feel authoritarian. I wanted him to feel approachable,” he said.
He researched Lee and talked with biographer Vanessa Rouillon. Learning about Lee’s personality traits humanized him for Hammie, who found Lee dynamic and wanted to paint a portrait of him that was expressive and full of life and energy.
The suit and tie Lee wears in Hammie’s painting signifies the pride and efficiency with which he went about his work in the president’s office. Lee was the second African American to work for the university, and he took on more responsibilities as he rose to the position of chief clerk, becoming an indispensable staff member serving seven administrations.
“He was very methodical and kept detailed records of everything,” Hammie said.
Hammie worked from black-and-white photographs of Lee, so he had to guess at his eye color and skin tone.
“His eyes are very light. I was trying to estimate what his skin tone was like. Did it have olive or red undertones? There was a lot of thinking and guesswork and pulling on my experience with working with so many different people,” Hammie said.
He painted Lee’s face 10 times before he felt he got it right.
“His hair was a unique pleasure. It was so interesting and wild,” he said. “I felt like, with its sides shaved, it would be something like what a lot of young men are wearing on campus.”
He tried many different background colors to complement the portrait and feel both classic and current. The bluish-purple color he settled on “vibrated really well with the yellows and oranges of the skin,” Hammie said.
The bottom of the painting is unfinished, with paint drips evident at the edge of the canvas. For Hammie, it is both a visual representation of the layers of history of Lee’s work on campus and a way of creating a more intimate and tactile experience with the painting.
The portrait is situated adjacent to a wall telling the history of housing on campus and near a wing of the building that houses offices for student organization leadership. A plaque next to the portrait states that Lee helped students find housing and work through his connections in the community, and a QR code on the plaque links to a short documentary about Lee.
“I think it’s so appropriate. To highlight this pioneer is an honor,” said Alma Sealine, the executive director of university housing.
“What I also love about it is the location highlights Maudelle Tanner Brown Bousfield. She was the first African American female graduate of the University of Illinois. She is highlighted on the history of housing because a residence hall was named after her. She would have been one of the students Lee tracked and interacted with in his role in the president’s office,” Sealine said.
The dedication ceremony is at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 1 in Room 2025AB on the second floor of the Student Dining and Residential Programs Building, 301 E. Gregory Drive, Champaign. Those who plan to attend should RSVP at go.illinois.edu/ARL.