Lee Miller: A Photographer at Work (1932–1945)

This touring exhibition, arriving after stops at the Image Centre, in Toronto, and Les Rencontres d’Arles, France, features over 100 photographs from the most productive years of Lee Miller’s career. Guest curated by Gaëlle Morel and organized in collaboration with the Lee Miller Archive, in England, the exhibition seeks to reposition Miller from a bit player in the life of Surrealist artist Man Ray to that of an artist with her own insights and sensibilities, the author of her own narrative arc.

“The time is right,” writes Morel, “to finally complicate and deepen our understanding of this important photographer. The exhibition isn’t about mythologising an artist, but about providing Miller due credit. She made an indelible impact on our visual culture through all of her endeavours, from her creative work to her unflinchingly honest photographs from the warfront.”

This “warfront” was the Second World War, in which Miller, while working as a photographer for British Vogue, joined the 83rd Infantry Division of the US Army as a correspondent on its march from the beaches of Normandy to the liberation of Paris. From there, Miller travelled to Germany, where she was present for the liberation of the Dachau and Buchenwald concentration camps, providing the world with some of the first images of the Holocaust.

A Photographer at Work is arranged in three sections: the first focuses on Miller’s in-studio portrait practice; the second on her fashion photography for Vogue; the third, her wartime photojournalism. Throughout the exhibition are archival materials, consisting of vintage publications, personal correspondence and selected self-portraits.

Opening reception Nov 6, 7–9pm. Please RSVP on the gallery website

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