Lee Miller – Profile
Lee Miller worked as a photographer who began her career in the 1920s.
To say that Lee Miller had a complicated career may be an understatement. She began a modeling career in New York, then moved to Paris to work with surrealist Man Ray before starting her own photography studio. She began by taking street photos and portraits, but later she became at war correspondent in World War II. After the war, she continued to photograph for Vogue, who had published her war images.
Her work moved to covering people. She photographed many of the iconic artists of the time, including Pablo Picasso and Charlie Chaplin. Curiously, her life eventually drifted away from photography, and near the end of her life, she was known mainly as a gourmet cook. She died in 1977.
Miller’s son, Antony Penrose, would later write about her career and life story in his book The Lives of Lee Miller. Click below to hear Penrose discuss his Lee Miller's photography career.
Links
The Lee Miller Archive official website
Much More Than A Muse radio story and slideshow on NPR
Lee Miller in Hitler's Bathtub from Iconic Photos
My Hero: Lee Miller article from The Guardian
" 'Partners in Surrealism' at Legion brings Lee Miller out from the shadow of her mentor/lover Man Ray" a review of a 2012 Lee Miller / Man Ray exhibition from Mercury News
For Your Bookshelf
Much of Miller's work was published in books posthumously. Two of these books, written by Miller's son Antony Penrose, provide excellent insight into her life and work.
The Lives of Lee Miller
Cover of The Lives of Lee Miller
The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose follows Lee Miller's multiple careers, from model and fashion photographer to war correspondant and combat photographer to gourmet cook.
Cover of Lee Miller's War by Antony Penrose
Lee Miller's War by Antony Penrose covers the time Lee Miller spent as a combat photographer and war correspondant during WWII. David E. Scherman, who wrote the forward, followed Lee in documenting the war.