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Lee Miller

National Portrait Gallery

Object Details

Artist
Man Ray, 27 Aug 1890 - 18 Nov 1976
Sitter
Lee Miller, 23 Apr 1907 - 21 Jul 1977
Exhibition Label
Born Poughkeepsie, New York
Lee Miller spent much of her so-called “melodramatic” life as a photographer. She moved to New York City in 1926 to study at the Art Students League and soon started modeling for Vogue magazine. In 1929, Miller went to Paris, where she studied photography with and assisted the artist Man Ray. Their experiments resulted in a style that soon became a hallmark of Surrealist photography, and they often collaborated so closely that neither could recall who had made a particular work. They also became lovers, and before they parted ways in 1932, Miller often posed for Man Ray. Miller returned to New York but soon found herself back in Europe, where she worked as a fashion and war photographer. One of the few women photographers on the front lines of World War II, she produced a compelling and expansive documentation of everything from women’s involvement in the war to the liberation of the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps.
Nacida en Poughkeepsie, Nueva York
Lee Miller pasó gran parte de su llamada vida “melodramática” como fotógrafa. Se mudó a la Ciudad de Nueva York en 1926 para estudiar en la Liga de Estudiantes de Arte y pronto comenzó a modelar para la revista Vogue. En 1929, Miller fue a París, donde estudió fotografía con el artista Man Ray, de quien también fue asistente. Sus experimentos resultaron en un estilo que pronto se convirtió en el sello distintivo de la fotografía surrealista y a menudo colaboraron tan a fondo que ninguno de los dos era capaz de recordar quién había realizado una obra en particular. Además, fueron amantes y, antes de separarse en 1932, Miller posó en repetidas ocasiones para Man Ray. Miller regresó a Nueva York pero pronto volvió a Europa, donde trabajó como fotógrafa de moda y de guerra. Siendo una de las pocas fotógrafas en el frente de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, documentó de manera cautivadora y extensa todo lo que pudo, desde la participación de las mujeres en la guerra a la liberación de los campos de concentración de Buchenwald y Dachau.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
c. 1930
Object number
NPG.2000.62
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© 2000 Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society, NY / ADAGP, Paris
Type
Photograph
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image/Sheet: 8.6 x 6.8cm (3 3/8 x 2 11/16")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location
Currently not on view
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Interior\Studio\Photography
Lee Miller: Female
Lee Miller: Arts and Culture\Visual Arts\Artist\Photographer\War photographer
Lee Miller: Arts and Culture\Visual Arts\Fashion model
Lee Miller: Arts and Culture\Visual Arts\Artist\Photographer\Fashion photographer
Portrait
Record ID
npg_NPG.2000.62
Metadata Usage (text)
Usage conditions apply
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4dcfcbf6c-28c1-4878-8458-6cb2def87b0c

Related Content

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There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
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IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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