Born in 1907 in New York, Lee Miller struggled with formal education and sexual abuse in her childhood, prompting her to move to Paris at 18 years old and study costume design. After being scouted on the street, she spent a few short years as one of the most sought-after fashion models and appeared on the cover of Vogue. At the age of 21, a photograph of Miller was used—without her consent—to advertise menstrual products, prematurely ending her modeling career. She dedicated the rest of her life to photography; she was commissioned by British Vogue to visit Dublin and illustrate the article “When James Joyce Lived in Dublin,” she collaborated with the surrealist artist Man Ray, and she opened her own commercial studio, Lee Miller Studios. In later life, she settled with her family in East Sussex in England, where she established what has been described as an “artistic mecca” for visiting creatives, which included multiple visits from Miller’s close friend Pablo Picasso.
10/18/1932-New York, NY: Miss Lee Miller of Poughkeepsie, NY, young artist who went to Paris several years ago to study painting but changed to camera study making quite a reputation for herself, is seen here aboard the S. S. Ile de France as she arrived in New York on Oct. 18.
While Miller is remembered by the art communities in Sussex, Paris, and New York, it is her work as a war correspondent that garnered the most acclaim. Throughout this period of her life, Miller captured images of herself bathing in Hitler’s bathtub, the first use of napalm, corpses of Nazi officers, the execution of the Hungarian prime minister, and the inside of concentration camps. In 2024 alone, two major films were greatly inspired by Miller’s life and work. The protagonist of Alex Garland’s Civil War, played by Kirsten Dunst, is named Lee Smith and she references Miller as her inspiration for becoming a war photographer. The film Lee, a biopic starring Kate Winslet as Lee Miller, which is in theaters now. Today, Miller’s Sussex home is a museum dedicated to her work, and her life was even turned into a musical in 2005. The unwavering interest in Lee Miller has cemented her legacy as a pioneer of photojournalism and a feminist icon and proves that she remains one of photography’s most enduring figures.
Vogue 1931 – Lee Miller models a Mirande suit with gloves and crocheted hat.
Top Image: Photo by Edward Steichen/Condé Nast
Vogue 1928 – Lee Miller wearing broad-brimmed natural straw picture hat with straw lace trim and shiny leaves and single rose on crown, designed by Lanvin; necklace of large beads; and long-sleeved dress with horizontally stitched tucks.
