luminaries in the arts, including composer Virgil
Thompson, artist Joseph Cornell, and actress Ger-
trude Lawrence. She closed her New York studio in
1934, however, to relocate to Cairo with her hus-
band, and she drastically curtailed her professional
photographic practice. During a trip to Paris in
1937, Miller met British artist and Surrealist patron
Arthur Penrose, with whom she traveled in Europe,
leading to the dissolution of her marriage and her
relocation to England in June of 1939.
Once again in a more central location and crea-
tive milieu, Miller’s photographic career revived. In
January of 1940, she began working for British
Vogue.In her capacity as a studio photographer,
she produced countless images of various celebrities
and wartime fashions. Independently of the maga-
zine, Miller documented the hardships encountered
in England during the blitz, and in 1941 a number of
her photographs were published in the bookGrim
Glory: Pictures of Britain under Fire.Edited by
Ernestine Carter and with a preface by Edward R.
Murrow, the book described the blitz through
image and text, and was marketed in the United
States, allowing the American public a glimpse
into the wartime conditions in England.
Encouraged by Life magazine photographer
David E. Scherman (of whom she made a famous
portrait posing with his photo equipment and wear-
ing a gas mask), Miller was accredited as a U.S.
forces war correspondent in 1942, although women
were not allowed to photograph combat. Although
the photographic assignments received fromVogue
remained relatively benign immediately after her
accreditation, including portrait assignments of
Life magazine photographer Margaret Bourke-
White and members of the Women’s Royal Naval
Service, the designation eventually allowed her the
latitude to travel outside of theVoguestudios and
to report on a number of dangerous wartime situa-
tions. In 1944, Miller traveled to Normandy,
France six weeks after D-Day and photographed a
U.S. Army evacuation hospital. These images were
published in the September 1944 issue ofVogue
alongside her written transcript outlining the sub-
ject. After publication of the story, Miller regularly
served as both photographer and reporter for
Vogue, as she followed the U.S. Army eastward
during the waning months of the war.
Arriving in Paris shortly after the city’s libera-
tion from German occupation, Miller produced
numerous fashion photographs, the most notable
of whichVogueMagazine published in its October
and November 1944 issues. After Paris, Miller con-
tinued into hostile territory with the U.S. Army,
focusing exclusively on the destruction left in the
wake of World War II. Her most powerful photo-
graphs from this time period were taken in the
German concentration camps of Dachau and
Buchenwald. Although highly disturbing and gra-
phic, Miller’s images of prisoners and defeated SS
guards were reproduced in the June 1945 edition of
AmericanVogue, giving readers an unprecedented
glimpse into the horrors that befell the citizens of
Europe.
Miller continued to work for Vogueafter the
close of World War II, covering stories in Den-
mark, Austria, and Hungary. In February of
1946, she returned to London, where she married
Roland Penrose one year later. After the birth of
her only child, Antony, in September 1947, Miller
worked forVoguesporadically. Although she lar-
gely abandoned photography, she did continue to
photograph the many notable visitors to the Pen-
rose farm in Chiddingly, East Sussex, including
artists Max Ernst and Pablo Picasso. Her later
years were spent dedicated to her new passion for
cooking and traveling with Penrose until her death
in 1977. Although recognized for her work as a
photographer during the early stages of her career,
Miller had become remembered primarily for her
work as a model and muse to Man Ray until her
son Antony published her biography,The Lives of
Lee Miller, in 1985. He later edited the bookLee
Miller’s War: Photographer and Correspondent with
the Allies in Europe, a 1989 publication that con-
centrated on her experiences with the U.S. Army
during World War II. Antony Miller also estab-
lished and directs the Lee Miller Archive in East
Sussex, England, which conserves and publishes
the Lee Miller photographic heritage.
JuliaDolan
Seealso:Bourke-White, Margaret; Fashion Photo-
graphy; Gallery; Levy, Julien; Life Magazine; Man
Ray; Solarization; Surrealism; War PhotographyBiography
Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, 23 April 1907. Attended
L’Ecole Medgyes pour la Technique du The ́aˆ tre , Paris,
France, 1925; The Art Students League, New York, 1926;
first instructed in photography by Man Ray, Paris,
France, 1929; studio photographer, 1930–1934; photogra-
pher and writer for BritishVogueMagazine, 1940–1947;
contributed occasional articles until 1959. Died in Chid-
dingly, East Sussex, England, 27 July 1977.Individual Exhibition
1933 Julien Levy Gallery; New York, New York
1978 Mayor Gallery; London, EnglandMILLER, LEE