Lee Marmon - Timeline

Lee Marmon: His Life and Career At A Glance

1912: New Mexico is admitted to the union as the 47th state.

1925: Lee Marmon is born on the evening on September 20th in Laguna, New Mexico. He is the middle of three sons born to Lily and Hank Marmon.

1936: Lee Marmon takes his first photograph, of a motor vehicle accident on the old U.S. Route 66 in Laguna.

1943-1946: Lee Marmon leaves New Mexico for Alaska for his wartime tour of duty in the U.S. Army. He serves as a Sergeant-Major on remote and blustery Shemya Island in the far-western Aleutians.

1947: Lee Marmon returns home to post-war civilian life in Laguna. He buys his first camera, a 4 x 5 Speed Graphic.

1949: Lee photographs "White Man's Moccasins," "Eagle Dancers," and "Little Girls at Clothesline". They are instantly recognized as standout images.

1949-1966: Lee Marmon continues taking pictures. He runs the Laguna Trading Post with his father, Hank, who died in 1964.

1950-1956: Serves as postmaster of Laguna, New Mexico.

1966: Moves from Laguna to Palm Springs, California.

1967-1973: Serves as official photographer for the Bob Hope Desert Classic.

1972: Commissioned by President and Mrs. Richard M. Nixon for White House photo collection of tribal pottery from New Mexico.

1969-present: Lee's photographs make various appearances in leading national media, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, and The Saturday Evening Post.

1978: Commissioned as a still photographer for Columbia Pictures.

1982: Moves back to Laguna, New Mexico from California

1992: Contributes to the PBS Series, "Surviving Columbus". He later wins an ADDY Award from the American Advertising Federation. The series wins the prestigious Peabody Award the following year.

1996: Commissioned for permanent Ute photo display at Denver, Colorado International Airport

1997: Commissioned by American Indian College Fund for Native American Educational Photo Project.

1998:Exhibition: "Native Nations: Journeys in American Photography". The Barbican Art Gallery, London, England. Releases his first video, "The Lee Marmon Gallery," on VHS.

1999: Featured as cover story in the January issue of New Mexico Magazine.

1999: National Exhibit: "Pueblo Portraits: Fifty Years at Laguna Pueblo" at the Smithsonian's newly established Museum of the American Indian.

2003: Publishes an eloquent and striking collection of his best-known images in his successful first book, "The Pueblo Imagination." The book is compiled in collaboration with his daughter, novelist Leslie Marmon Silko, and poets Joy Harjo and Simon Ortiz.**

2004: "The Pueblo Imagination" takes First Place awards from both The Mountains and Plains Bookseller's Association, and from Independent Publisher Online.

*Video is available for purchase in the Online Store
**Book is available for purchase in the Online Store

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