Lee Miller
| Lee Miller | |
|---|---|
Cover of the biography Lives of Lee Miller by her son Antony Penrose
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| Born |
Elizabeth Miller April 23, 1907 Poughkeepsie, New York |
| Died | July 21, 1977 (aged 70) Chiddingly, East Sussex |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Photojournalism |
| Movement | Surrealism |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Website | Lee Miller Archives |
.jpg) Farley Farm House |
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 Man Ray Portraits: Lee Miller's house on YouTube, tour with Antony Penrose (4:33), TheArtFundUK
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Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, Lady Penrose (April 23, 1907 – July 21, 1977), was an American photographer. Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1907, she was a successful fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris, where she became an established fashion and fine art photographer. During the Second World War, she became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue, covering events such as the London Blitz, the liberation of Paris, and the concentration camps at Buchenwald and Dachau.
Miller was born on April 23, 1907, in Poughkeepsie, New York. Her parents were Theodore and Florence Miller (née MacDonald). Her father was of German descent, and her mother of Canadian, Scottish and Irish descent. She had a younger brother named Erik, and an older brother named John. Theodore always favored Lee, and he often used her as a model for his amateur photography. When she was seven years old, she was raped while staying with a family friend in Brooklyn and infected with gonorrhea.
Lee's father introduced Lee and her brothers to photography at an early age. She was his model – he took many stereoscopic photographs of his nude teenage daughter – and he also showed her technical aspects of the art. Aged 19 she nearly stepped in front of a car on a Manhattan street but was prevented by Condé Nast, the publisher of Vogue. This incident helped launch her modeling career; she appeared in an illustration by George Lepape on the cover of the Vogue edition of March 15, 1927.
For the next two years she was one of the most sought-after models in New York, photographed by leading fashion photographers including Edward Steichen, Arnold Genthe, Nickolas Muray and George Hoyningen-Huene. A photograph of Miller by Steichen was used to advertise Kotex menstrual pads, causing a scandal and effectively ending her career as a fashion model.
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