Cutting the pies and cakes

Russell Lee was known for his ability to enter a community and document every aspect of it, becoming friendly with the locals and capturing honest moments of their daily lives. Unlike his fellow FSA photographers, Lee loved shooting in series rather than single images, feeling that was the only way to truly capture the story of a society.

Lee spent several months in Pie Town, New Mexico, photographing the daily lives of the homesteaders there. In October, there was a large gathering called the Pie Town Fair, during which Lee took several images. In addition to this image of the spread of desserts, there was barbecue, a rodeo, fruit wagons, and an exhibition hall. Lee's penchant for documentation allows the present-day viewer to completely travel back to 1940 Pie Town, New Mexico.