Lee Miller: Unveiling the Legacy of a Model-turned-War Photographer

Renowned for her keen eye for the surreal and the beautiful in everyday life, Lee Miller's multifaceted career as a model, war photographer, and artist has been rediscovered. Despite her work being largely forgotten at the time of her death in 1977, a recent biopic, monograph, and exhibition have brought her back into the spotlight, giving new life to her forgotten photographic work and her experiences during World War II.

Photographer Antony Penrose, the son of British surrealist painter Roland Penrose, has dedicated his life's work to highlighting his mother's legacy. He co-directs her archive with his daughter, Ami Bouhassane, and has written numerous books about Miller, including the recent "Lee Miller: Photographs." He spent the past decade consulting on the film "Lee," which has recently been released in the United Kingdom and Spain (with a US release date pending confirmation).

In 1942, Miller employed multiple exposures to craft this ethereal photograph for a British Vogue feature, showcasing women's wartime exercises. This innovative full-body rollup was endorsed by cosmetics tycoon Helena Rubinstein.

Lee Miller Archives, England 2023

The photographer's surreal sensibilities inspired her to capture street scenes as "found images," similar to how fellow surrealists and Dada artists used found objects. (Lee Miller Archives, England 2023)

In Saint-Malo, a coastal town in France where Allied and German forces fought in 1944, Miller captured a photo of a tall boot lying on the ground, with an ammunition belt curling out like fish bones.

Lee Miller Archives, England 2023

He vividly remembers the overwhelming moment when he and his late wife, Suzanna, discovered around 60,000 of her negatives and prints in their attic after Miller's passing. She had cultivated a distinctive surrealist perspective, capturing the peculiarities of everyday life that toyed with the viewer's perception: a scratched-up door at a jewelry store transformed into a small explosion of sparks; spilled tar on the street shimmered darkly like a creature from the depths of the sea or a cave.

But the breadth of her influence was truly remarkable. Here, Elsa Schiaparelli reclined among two cheetah sculptures, and Marlene Dietrich striking a pose in the designer's draped robe under the dramatic sun. There was a scene of onlookers jeering at four women, their heads shaved, as they faced trial for alleged ties to Nazis. Here were the haunting images of concentration camp victims in Dachau, and the liberated prisoners standing over a mound of human bones.

One of four Frenchwomen that Miller photographed in Rennes, France, in 1944, after the women had been accused of associating with Nazis.

Lee Miller Archives, England 2023

After the war, Miller battled with depression and alcoholism, long before post-traumatic stress disorder and its symptoms were officially recognized. When the occasional curator or art historian sought to understand the true depth of her work, Penrose noted that Miller would redirect the attention and downplay her career. It was only through her archive that he truly grasped the life she had led.

Reinventing herself

Miller was long known for her modeling work in New York and was often referred to as a "muse" during her time in Paris. She posed for Pablo Picasso, who painted her in vivid yellow and green, capturing her "remarkable wit and liveliness… and a fierce, confrontational approach to life," as stated by Jason Ysenberg, a director at Gagosian and co-curator of the gallery's show "Lee Miller and Friends", during a video call.

Additionally, she collaborated on portrait work with Man Ray, whom she had a romantic relationship with and remained friends with for the rest of her life, although she was often not given credit for her contributions.

"Those images of Lee were as much by Lee as by Man Ray," added Richard Calvocoressi, the shows other co-curator, on the call.

Models pose for Vogue by an air raid shelter in London during the Blitz, wearing masks worn to protect against incendiary bombs.

Lee Miller Archives, England 2023

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Miller photographed the artist Leonora Carrington outside of the home she shared with Max Ernst.

Lee Miller Archives, England 2023

Many have lauded Miller as a budding supermodel in her early twenties, just before she crossed paths with Man Ray. However, her career took a hit when fashion clients suddenly turned their backs on her, attributing it to the use of her portrait in a Kotex ad that promoted menstrual products, taken by photographer Edward Steichen.

Penrose exclaimed that she came to an abrupt stop. Nobody was interested in having the Kotex girl model their dresses," Penrose stated. "She didn't even realize that the photo would be used for that reason - it was purchased through an agency."

Why does Remedios Varo, one of the three surrealism witches, continue to captivate?

Despite using the setback to make changes in her career, Miller's path was still influenced by sexist societal norms. Women surrealists, including Leonora Carrington and Dora Maar, were overlooked by art historians and curators of the 20th century, despite their significant contributions. Even Penrose's father referred to them as "muses" rather than as artists. Despite these challenges, Miller's time with her friends prior to World War II seemed carefree. After leaving Paris and marrying Aziz Eloui Bey, her relationship with Penrose sparked a two-year affair that ultimately led to the end of her marriage.

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Millers formed close bonds with fellow artists, which resulted in her capturing iconic candid shots of the period. This photograph features the poet and artist Paul and Nusch Éluard on the left, Miller's future husband, Roland Penrose, at the back right, and the artist Man Ray and model Ady Fidelin on the right.

The Lee Miller Archives in England in 2023 showcase some of Miller's iconic images from her vacations in the south of France. These photographs capture beach outings with Penrose, Picasso, and Maar, along with model Ady Fidelin. The images also include a picnic that has been compared to Édouard Manet's famous painting "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe," featuring a topless Fidelin alongside Man Ray, poet Paul Éluard, and artist Nusch Éluard.

Ysenberg emphasized that during this tumultuous era, Nazism was rising in Germany and the Spanish Civil War was underway. It was during this time that Picasso created his monumental and career-defining work "Guernica," coinciding with Miller's return to Paris. According to Ysenberg, it was a time of friendship and love, portraying a carefree atmosphere amidst the rapidly changing world.

She saw what were missing

In the 1940s, numerous artists escaped from Europe, and although Miller had the option to return to New York for safety, Penrose stated that she chose to remain in London with Roland and become a photojournalist for British Vogue. During this time, she documented the women who were involved in the war efforts and captured both fashion and street images during the Blitz.

The playful and gender-defying portraits of this Norwegian couple were unexpectedly discovered decades after their deaths.

She was later recognized as an official correspondent for the US armed forces, one of only four female photographers to hold this title. During this time, she closely collaborated with Life photojournalist David E. Scherman in Normandy and Munich. Together, they entered Hitler's apartment with soldiers on April 30, 1945, the same day he shot himself in his bunker in Berlin. Earlier that day, Miller and Scherman had taken photographs in Dachau. Miller tracked mud from the concentration camp all over the apartment's floor before posing in the bathtub. She also took the same photo of Scherman, who was Jewish.

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This portrait of Miller in Hitler's bathtub in Munich on the day of his deathher boots dirtying his bathmathas become one of the images for which she is most known.

Lee Miller Archives, England 2023

Even amidst the devastating impacts of the war in Europe, which would later take a toll on her, Miller continued to keep her artist's eye sharp. She considered the war to be the ultimate surreal, maddening, and nightmarish experience, as stated by Calvocoressi.

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Opera singer Irmgard Seefried singing against the bombed-out Vienna Opera House in November 1945, published in Vogue.

Lee Miller Archives, England 2023

Miller's final assignment for Vogue was in the early 1950s. Due to her declining mental health, she could no longer meet deadlines, as noted by Penrose. Despite this, Miller continued to photograph and took approximately 1,000 photographs of Picasso while Roland worked on his biography, which was published in 1958.

Penrose, throughout her career, was always in search of the metaphor in her surroundings. One of the poetic moments she captured occurred in front of the Vienna Opera House in Austria's capital in late 1945 amidst the lingering destruction of war. The soprano Irmgard Seefried is photographed singing an aria from the Italian opera "Madame Butterfly," framed by twisted metal support beams and rubble. Penrose believes that the image was set up by Miller, who captured her with arms outstretched, completely in silhouette.