Undergraduate intern Kelsey McKinney with the authors' door at the Ransom Center. Photo by Pete Smith.

Each academic year, the Ransom Center hosts undergraduate interns sponsored by various programs and departments at The University of Texas at Austin. For the 2012–2013 academic year, the Center is pleased to announce the addition of four Ransom Center–sponsored undergraduate intern positions. Students do not need to be affiliated with any particular program or department but must be full-time undergraduate students at The University of Texas at Austin. Application materials should be delivered to the Administrative Suite on the third floor of the Ransom Center by April 9, 2012. Below, current undergraduate intern Kelsey McKinney discusses her internship experience at the Ransom Center.

I fell in love with the…

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The Harry Ransom Center recently received a generous gift of four Tom Lea drawings. Dating from 1931 to 1951, the drawings of dancers and an acrobat showcase another artistic focus of Lea’s (1907 – 2001) expansive career.

Donated by Sandra Snyder, the drawings were previously owned by her aunt, Martha Esquivel Hahn, of El Paso, Texas. Hahn, herself a dancer and wardrobe supervisor, was a friend of Lea. Hahn and Lea went to the same high school in El Paso together and were life-long friends. After living in Chicago, New York City, and Las Vegas, Hahn returned to El Paso, where she opened a ballet school. One of the drawings, Portrait of Martha, is of Hahn.

The four works will be added to the Ransom Center’s Sarah and Tom Lea art collection, which consists of the artist’s personal art works, including book illustrations, paintings, drawings, and lithographs. The Ransom Center also holds a large archive of manuscripts relating to Lea’s books, including The Brave Bulls (1949) and The Wonderful Country (1952), both of which were produced as films.

“It is a good day when someone contacts the Center about finding a proper home for their artwork, especially when the work is strongly associated with artists already in the collection,” said Ransom Center Associate Curator of Art Peter Mears. “Ms. Snyder’s thoughtful gift of Tom Lea drawings adds depth to the collection as well as new insight into this El Paso artist’s exceptional career.”

The Tom Lea collection is accessible for research in the Ransom Center’s Reading and Viewing Room. The Tom Lea Room (located on the Ransom Center’s third floor), which chronicles Lea’s life and career and includes period photographs and original works of art, is available by appointment.

Tom Lea (American, 1907-2001). 'De Negre,' 1931. Pen and ink. ©Tom Lea Institute.