Seldom has a book title been more apposite. Lee Miller (born Elizabeth near New York in 1907) really did have a number of lives, sometimes overlapping, sometimes running in parallel, but always fascinating, often fabulous – and for a period during the Second World War, incredibly dangerous.
Encouraged to take up photography by her father, Lee found herself in Paris among the pleasure-seeking ‘Lost Generation’. Back in New York, an accidental meeting with magazine owner Condé Nast resulted in Lee becoming a model for Vogue.
An on-off work/personal relationship with Surrealist photographer Man Ray was followed by a move to Cairo and an on-off marriage to an Egyptian businessman. Feeling trapped, Lee returned (with her husband’s blessing – and some of his money) to Paris, where she encountered Roland Penrose for the first time. Roland adored Lee.
Her striking photography for Vogue while following American troops across Europe after D-day is probably her best-known work today – whether pinned down in Nazi-held St Malo, revisiting old haunts and friends following the Liberation of Paris, being among the first to encounter the horror of Dachau or (in)famously being photographed in Hitler’s bathtub in Munich by her constant colleague David Scherman.
Lee travelled across post-war Eastern Europe, always on the lookout for photo-stories, as well as continuing to cover all the major fashion shows. But this was something of an anti-climax for her and the ‘Winged Serpents’ of depression hovered close by.
Back in the UK and married to Roland, Lee’s life took another turn, towards an obsession with cooking – she was a wonderful hostess – and then classical music. Photography gradually took a back seat as Roland’s career as a co-founder of the Institute of Contemporary Arts took off. She gave birth to Antony, the author of this book, in 1947. She died in 1977.
Lee and Antony had a fractious relationship. I’m in two minds as to whether he is too hard or too soft on her. She was undoubtedly a complex personality. This enthralling book brings all her lives thrillingly to life.
[We have a copy of The Lives of Lee Miller in the library]
