Lee McKee

Lee H. McKee (born December 28, 1974; died March 16, 2017) was a blacksmith and sculptor, and a co-founder of the Sons of Vulcan metal arts cooperative.

McKee graduated from St Stanislaus College in Bay St Louis, Mississippi in 1993 and studied sculpture at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. He apprenticed with master blacksmith James Whatley and worked for a while as a furnace assistant for Sloss Metal Arts in 2012. That year he created the replacement eagle sculptures for Birmingham's Rainbow Viaduct. He opened his own McKee Metal Arts in Bessemer by 2014 and later joined with other artists to form the Sons of Vulcan, which he served as president.

At every stage of his career, McKee taught metal arts classes to people of all skill levels and produced commissioned work for public and private clients.

McKee died in a motorcycle accident on 5th Avenue South in East Avondale in 2017.

References

• Robinson, Carol (March 20, 2017) "Bessemer metal artist dies in Birmingham motorcycle crash." The Birmingham News