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Lee Miller: Dressed

Lee Miller: Dressed

November 19, 2023
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An accidental discovery of a seemingly unremarkable bundle of clothes labelled ‘rags’ and a pile of long-forgotten travel trunks found in the corner of an attic form the basis for this Lee Miller: Dressed, an exhibition about the colourful and unconventional life of Lee Miller. Renowned as a photographer, fashion model, war correspondent and cookery expert, Miller had her own particular approach to fashion and dress, and it is through this medium that new insights into her life and work are revealed.


Image: Self-portrait (with headband), Lee Miller Studios, Inc., New York, USA 1932 by Lee Miller © Lee Miller Archives England 2023. All Rights Reserved. Image above: Lee Miller wearing sunbathing outfit with pareo, Jacques Heim, Paris 1937 by Roland Penrose © Lee Miller Archives England 2023. All Rights Reserved.

Born near New York in 1907, at an early age Miller became a model for Vogue magazine. Moving to Paris in 1929 she worked with the artist Man Ray and on returning to New York she established her own photography studio. In the 1930s now living in Egypt, she embarked on a European trip using her skill as a photographer to capture her adventures. It was during these travels that she met artist and collector Roland Penrose. In 1940 Miller, based in London, worked as a photographer for Vogue. Taking full advantage of her position as official war correspondent she travelled to Europe where she photographed the horrors of the recently liberated Nazi concentration camps. In 1947 she married Penrose and gave birth to their son, Anthony, moving to Farley’s House in Sussex in 1949. It was here she retired her previous life to the attics of this house, reinventing herself as a gourmande.


Image: Model [Elizabeth Cowell] wearing Digby Morton Suit, London, England 1941 by Lee Miller (3884-5). 

Fundamental to this exhibition are clothes and what they tell us about the woman and her life. The process of creating this exhibition, the vision of curator Martin Pel with the assistance of textile conservationist Zenzie Tinker, involved a careful and dedicated research and restoration project. This provided new insights into both the garments and the person who wore them. Ten outfits were selected, few of which have been displayed in public before. One of the most striking is a pretty makeshift maternity dress with a playful zigzag floral pattern and glorious ribbon-like stripes of red, yellow, green and blue celebrating the joy of Miller’s first and only pregnancy. Another reveals Miller’s disregard for convention, a stunning sunbathing outfit with striking bands of colourful folk art patterning in a style that would have been considered shocking for its time. On the walls are a selection of Miller’s sophisticated black and white photographs that quietly complement the vibrancy at the heart of this exhibition, her unique sartorial style.


Image: Pregnancy dress, Fashion Orginators Guild of America, c1930. ©Tessa Hallman.

Perhaps the most moving item in the exhibition is part of the contents of a travel trunk with twelve shoe compartments. There is one pair of sandals that appear particularly well-worn, with a poignancy about them bearing as they do the imprint of Miller’s feet. Battered and tired looking they are not necessarily items of great beauty. However, they remind us of the premise for the whole exhibition, how unassuming articles like clothing and shoes buried away in an attic can reveal precious and intimate stories connecting us more deeply to the wearer.


Image: Lee Miller, Downshire Hill, London , England 1947 by Roland Penrose © Lee Miller Archives, England 2021.

Text by Nicola Miles

Lee Miller: Dressed will be on show at Brighton and Hove Museums until 18 February 2024.

Find out more:
brightonmuseums.org.uk/event/lee-miller-dressed
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