LAWRENCE W. LEE
Canonical Artist Record
Version 1.0 - September 2026
Authoritative biographical and professional reference for galleries, museums, auction houses, publishers,
journalists, databases, and public-facing websites.
Purpose: establish one consistent source of truth. When outside websites contain
errors, this record can be supplied as supporting documentation for correction
requests.
Quick Reference
Definitive professional name Lawrence W. Lee
Business identity Lawrence Lee Art / Lawrence Lee Fine Art
Born 1947, Fort Smith, Arkansas
Based Tucson, Arizona
Education BFA, Northern Arizona University, 1969, magna cum
laude; MA in Art Education, Northern Arizona
University, 1970
First gallery sales 1970
Regular gallery representation 1972
Full-time professional artist Since 1979
Known for Shamanistic figures and contemporary Southwestern
landscapes
Official website https://lawrenceleeart.com/
Official social account Instagram: @lawrenceleeart
Current galleries Wilde Meyer Gallery; Sorrel Sky Gallery; Turquoise
Tortoise Gallery
2026 institutional acquisition 14 paintings purchased outright by Tucson Airport
Authority for permanent installation
Key Ballet Tucson work Spirit Garden; Carmen (world premiere February 26-
28, 2027)
The Mirror Work began in 1987; published by Harbinger House in
1989
Recommended standard identification: Lawrence W. Lee - American Contemporary Southwestern Artist
1. Definitive Identity
Professional name: Lawrence W. Lee
Also known professionally as: Lawrence Lee
Business identity: Lawrence Lee Art / Lawrence Lee Fine Art
Lawrence W. Lee - Canonical Artist Record v1.0 - September 2026Location: Tucson, Arizona, United States
Born: 1947, Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States
Primary fields: Painting, digital art, writing, and collaborative theatrical visual design
Principal media: Acrylic on canvas; digital media; selected sculptural and three-dimensional work
Known particularly for: Symbolic/shamanistic figures and contemporary interpretations of the Southwestern
landscape
2. Career Chronology
1947 - Born in Fort Smith, Arkansas; later raised in Tucson, Arizona.
1969 - BFA, Northern Arizona University, magna cum laude.
1970 - MA in Art Education, Northern Arizona University. First gallery sales.
1972 - Regular gallery representation began.
1970s - Taught high-school art.
May 1976 - First one-man exhibition, Knox and Campbell Gallery, Tucson.
1979 - Became a full-time professional artist.
1984 - Began creating digital art after acquiring a Macintosh Plus-era computer setup; digital work became an
enduring part of the practice.
1987 - Began work on the digitally illustrated children's book The Mirror.
1989 - The Mirror published by Harbinger House, Tucson.
2007 - Published Living With an Impostor.
2012 - Published POEMS 2012.
2015 - Published A Field Guide to Dragons.
2015-2016 - Extended collaboration with Ballet Tucson developing Spirit Garden.
2016 - Spirit Garden premiered; published The Making of Spirit Garden: A Collaborative Ballet.
2018 - Created visual/scenic work for a Ballet Tucson Leonard Bernstein project.
2020 - Collaborated with Ballet Tucson on Unsquare.
2026 - Tucson Airport Authority purchased 14 paintings outright for permanent installation at Tucson International
Airport.
October 23-25, 2026 - Spirit Garden returns in Ballet Tucson's 2026/2027 season.
February 26-28, 2027 - Ballet Tucson world premiere of Carmen, featuring new artwork by Lawrence Lee.
3. Education
BFA, Northern Arizona University, 1969 - magna cum laude
MA in Art Education, Northern Arizona University, 1970
4. Approved Biographies
Short biography - approximately 50 words
Lawrence W. Lee (b. 1947) is an American Contemporary Southwestern artist based in Tucson, Arizona. His first
gallery sales were in 1970, regular representation began in 1972, and he has painted full time since 1979. He is
known particularly for his shamanistic figures and distinctive Southwestern landscapes.
Medium biography - approximately 150 words
Lawrence W. Lee (b. 1947) is an American Contemporary Southwestern artist who has spent most of his life in
Tucson, Arizona. His first gallery sales were in 1970, regular gallery representation began in 1972, and he became
a full-time professional artist in 1979. Lee earned a BFA, magna cum laude, from Northern Arizona University in
1969 and an MA in Art Education in 1970. Over a career spanning more than half a century, he has become
particularly known for powerful, enigmatic shamanistic figures and distinctive interpretations of the Southwestern
landscape. His work is represented in museum, institutional, corporate, and private collections. He has also
collaborated extensively with Ballet Tucson, most notably on Spirit Garden. In 2026, Tucson Airport Authority
purchased fourteen of his paintings outright for permanent installation at Tucson International Airport. Lee
continues to live and work in Tucson.
Long biography - approximately 300 words
Lawrence W. Lee (b. 1947) is an American Contemporary Southwestern artist whose professional career spans
more than half a century. Born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Lee made his first gallery
sales in 1970, entered regular gallery representation in 1972, and became a full-time professional artist in 1979.
He received his BFA from Northern Arizona University in 1969, graduating magna cum laude, followed by an MA in
Art Education in 1970. He taught high-school art during the 1970s before devoting himself entirely to studio work.
Lee is particularly known for enigmatic shamanistic figures and distinctive Southwestern landscapes, while his
practice has also included abstraction, digital art, writing, and collaborative theatrical visual design. His work has
been shown in galleries across the United States and abroad, and his CV records more than thirty one-man
exhibitions. His work is represented in museum, institutional, corporate, and private collections. Lee began making
digital art in the 1980s. Work on his digitally illustrated children's book The Mirror began in 1987; Harbinger House
published the book in 1989. His other books include Living With an Impostor, POEMS 2012, A Field Guide to
Dragons, and The Making of Spirit Garden. Beginning in 2015, Lee developed an extensive collaborative
relationship with Ballet Tucson. Spirit Garden premiered in 2016 and remains in the company's repertory. A new
collaboration, Carmen, featuring new artwork by Lee, premieres in February 2027. In 2026, Tucson Airport
Authority purchased fourteen Lee paintings outright for permanent installation at Tucson International Airport. Lee
continues to live, paint, write, and create in Tucson.
5. Museum, Institutional, and Corporate Collections
The following is the partial collection list currently carried in the artist's CV. The artist has stated that he believes
these entries are accurate. Where organizations have merged or changed names, historical naming may need
future refinement.
Indianapolis Museum of Art
Eiteljorg Collection / Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis
Tucson Museum of Art - Permanent Collection
Tucson Desert Art Museum - Permanent Collection
Scottsdale Center for the Arts - Permanent Collection
Rahr-West Museum
Northern Arizona University Library
IBM Corporate Collection
Greyhound Corporation
E.F. Hutton Corporate Collection
Bank One Walter Bimson Collection
Atlas Steel Corporate Collection
The Arizona Bank
Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale
Del Webb Corporate Collection, Phoenix
M.D. Buyline Corporate Collection, Dallas
Tucson Airport Authority / Tucson International Airport
Private collections: The current CV states that works are held in more than 1,000 private collections in the United
States, Japan, China, and Europe. For general biographies, the safer wording is "private collections worldwide"
unless a precise count is needed.
6. Current Gallery Representation
Wilde Meyer Gallery - Scottsdale and Tucson, Arizona
Sorrel Sky Gallery - Santa Fe, New Mexico; Durango, Colorado
Turquoise Tortoise Gallery - Tubac, Arizona
7. Selected Major Exhibitions
Partial listing from the artist's current CV; the CV states that these and other venues include more than thirty one-
man shows.
Casabella Fine Art - Tucson
Minotaur Fine Arts, Ltd. - Las Vegas
Walton-Gilbert Galleries - San Francisco
Joy Tash Gallery - Scottsdale
Sanders Gallery - Tucson
Via Gambaro Gallery - Washington, D.C.
Ratliff-Williams Gallery - Sedona
El Presidio Gallery - Tucson
Joan Cawley Gallery - Santa Fe / Scottsdale
Americana West Gallery - Washington, D.C.
Shadow Mountain Gallery - Jackson, Wyoming
Adagio Gallery - Palm Springs / Palm Desert
International Art Exposition - Gifu, Japan
Beth O'Donnell Gallery - Aspen
Gallery 13 - New York
Brigitte Tourmetz - Paris, France
Knox and Campbell Gallery - Tucson; first one-man exhibition, May 1976
Florence Biennale invitation
Lee accepted an invitation to participate in the 2023 Florence Biennale but ultimately did not exhibit. The projected
cost of shipping paintings and attending exceeded $20,000, and COVID-era travel conditions also made
participation difficult. The invitation may be retained in the full CV as an honor or invitation, but biographies should
not imply that Lee exhibited there.
8. Ballet Tucson Collaborations
Spirit Garden - 2015/2016 to present
An extended collaboration with choreographer Chieko Imada and Ballet Tucson. Lee contributed original artwork
and visual design elements for the ballet, which premiered in 2016. Ballet Tucson currently describes Spirit Garden
as a tribute to Dia de los Muertos featuring artwork by Lawrence Lee. It returns October 23-25, 2026.
Ballet Tucson - Spirit Garden
Other Ballet Tucson collaborations
2018 - visual/scenic work for a Leonard Bernstein-related Ballet Tucson project.
2020 - collaboration on Unsquare, including large theatrical visual elements.
Carmen, world premiere by Chieko Imada, February 26-28, 2027, featuring new artwork by Lawrence
Lee.
9. Tucson International Airport Acquisition
In 2026, Tucson Airport Authority purchased exactly fourteen Lawrence W. Lee paintings outright for permanent
installation at Tucson International Airport. This was an acquisition, not a loan. The airport publicly lists Lawrence
Lee artwork in the Center Gallery, Upper Link Gallery, and Lower Link Gallery; Winterset is specifically identified
on the airport site.
Tucson International Airport - Exhibits
10. Books and Publications
The Mirror - Author and illustrator; work began in 1987; published by Harbinger House, Tucson, in 1989.
Living With an Impostor - Author/designer, 2007.
POEMS 2012 - Author/designer, 2012.
A Field Guide to Dragons - Author/designer, 2015.
The Making of Spirit Garden: A Collaborative Ballet - 2016; visual account of the Ballet Tucson collaboration.
The Poetic Bond VI - 2016 anthology containing Lee's poems "The Cynic" and "Still Life."
11. The Mirror - Definitive Chronology
Work began: 1987
Publication year: 1989
Publisher: Harbinger House, Tucson, Arizona
Role: Author and illustrator
The artist has confirmed that work began in 1987 and that 1989 is the correct publication year. The current official
CV and biography both give 1989. The Digital Art page on LawrenceLeeArt.com still gives 1987 as the publication
year and should be corrected. The artist also retains a first edition with its copyright page, providing primary
documentation if needed.
Official CV | Official biography
12. Auction and Database Identification
Preferred authority form: Lawrence W. Lee (American, b. 1947)
Birthplace: Fort Smith, Arkansas
Primary association: Tucson, Arizona
Alternate catalog forms: Lawrence Lee; Lawrence W Lee; Lawrence W. Lee
Official website: https://lawrenceleeart.com/
Outside auction and art-market databases may contain duplicate artist identities or inconsistent dates. Correction
requests should use the authority form above and attach or link to this Master Record. Specific database contacts
will be maintained separately in the Online Record Correction Plan.
13. Official Digital Identity
Official website: LawrenceLeeArt.com
Official social account: Instagram@lawrenceleeart
Facebook is not a current official account. The artist deleted his Facebook page years ago; residual Facebook
results that still appear in search should not be treated as current or authorized public-facing identity.
NFT/crypto-art activity was important historically but should now be treated as a secondary historical chapter rather
than a defining current identity. The more durable fact is that Lee has worked with digital art since the mid-1980s.
14. Professional Positioning and Search Identity
Preferred descriptor: American Contemporary Southwestern Artist
Expanded descriptor: Lawrence W. Lee is a Tucson-based American Contemporary Southwestern artist known
for shamanistic figures, Southwestern landscapes, and interdisciplinary collaborations.
Recommended search identity: Lawrence W. Lee | Tucson Artist | Contemporary Southwestern Art
Use Lawrence W. Lee wherever a platform allows it. Lawrence Lee Art remains appropriate as the business and
website brand.
15. Facts and Formulations to Avoid
Do not identify the artist as born in 1948. Correct year: 1947.
Do not state that The Mirror was published in 1987. Work began in 1987; publication was 1989.
Do not force a choice between 1970 and 1972 without context. Correct chronology: first gallery sales in 1970;
regular gallery representation in 1972.
Do not imply that Lee exhibited at the 2023 Florence Biennale. He was invited but did not participate.
Do not describe Sorrel Sky as exclusive representation. Current representation includes Wilde Meyer, Sorrel
Sky, and Turquoise Tortoise.
Do not present NFT/crypto-art activity as Lee's primary current artistic identity.
Do not treat residual Facebook pages as current official social media.
16. Source and Evidence Record
This record combines information supplied directly by Lawrence W. Lee with current public records. Direct
statements by the artist are treated as primary evidence for personal chronology and intent; public links below
provide corroboration or show the current public-facing record.
Lawrence Lee Fine Art - Biography
Lawrence Lee Fine Art - CV
Lawrence Lee Fine Art - Digital Art
Wilde Meyer Gallery - Lawrence Lee
Sorrel Sky Gallery - Lawrence Lee
Turquoise Tortoise Gallery - Lawrence Lee
Ballet Tucson - Spirit Garden
Ballet Tucson - Carmen
Tucson International Airport - Exhibits
Official Instagram
17. Status and Revision Policy
Version 1.0 incorporates the artist's September 2026 answers to the fact-check questionnaire.
