The personal papers of Ruth and Sherman Lee are a donation from the Lee family. They document the history of both the Lee and Ward families in addition to the relationship between Ruth Ward and Sherman Lee. The collection is organized into six series. The first series, correspondence, has been digitized.
Sherman Emery Lee (1918-2008) served as the third director of the Cleveland Museum of Art from April 1, 1958 to June 30, 1983, guiding the development of a collection of considerable renown. In total, he worked for the museum for thirty-two years, two as a student volunteer while receiving his doctorate, five as curator of Oriental art, and twenty-five as director and chief curator of Oriental art. Although born in Seattle in 1918, Lee grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He did not develop an interest in art until he enrolled in an art history course at American University in Washington, D.C., during his junior year of college. He received both a bachelor's and master's degree from American University, majoring in history, in 1938 and 1939, respectively. He discovered his true interest in Asian art while enrolled in summer courses at the University of Michigan in 1939. Lee met his wife, Ruth Ward (1917-2011), while at American University. They married in 1938.
