Lee Miller
1907–1977 · United States / France / United Kingdom
Moving across roles and genres.
The story
Miller moved from modelling to photography and worked in Paris within Man Ray’s Surrealist circle. She then developed her practice as a portrait and fashion photographer before becoming a war correspondent. Her career resists simple divisions between beauty, experimentation and historical testimony. Civilian images, portraits and reportage should be read together to understand a practice that constantly transforms the position of the person looking.
Understanding the work
Compare the framing of a fashion image with that of a news photograph. Moving from one genre to another does not erase formal construction, but changes its human and historical stakes.
Key works and series
Portraits; solarisations; fashion photographs; Second World War reportage.
Sources & further exploration
Works in collections.
1 recordsPhotographs to explore on museum and library websites, with titles, dates and processes. Each link opens the collection record and its image where one is available.
