Biography
Lee Miller (1907–1977) was an American photographer, photojournalist, model, and a significant figure in the Surrealist movement, whose work profoundly influenced 20th-century photography. Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, she began her career as a model in New York during the 1920s, posing for renowned photographers like Edward Steichen. In 1929, she moved to Paris, becoming the student, muse, and collaborator of Man Ray, with whom she rediscovered the technique of solarization, emblematic of Surrealism .
In 1932, she opened her own studio in New York, producing portraits and commercial work. After a marriage in Egypt, she returned to Europe and joined British Vogue in 1939. During World War II, she became a war correspondent, covering major events such as the London Blitz, the liberation of Paris, and the discovery of the Dachau and Buchenwald concentration camps. Her photographs, notably the one taken in Hitler's bathtub in Munich, became iconic of that era .
After the war, she settled in England with her husband, painter Roland Penrose, and focused on culinary photography and writing. Her work was rediscovered in the 1980s thanks to her son, Antony Penrose, who founded the Lee Miller Archives. Since then, her work has been exhibited in prestigious institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Albertina in Vienna .
Nationality