aixcentric

‘Lee Miller Photographe Professionelle’  focuses on one of the most intense and productive periods in the life of this intriguing (*) American photographer (1907–1977).

During the 1930s, she was a fashion model but moved behind the camera to head her own studio in New York.  She specialised as a fashion and advertising photographer for perfume and cosmetic brands, and crossed the Atlantic to work for Vogue London.  Her models were posed naturally, often outside, often smiling.  When war broke out, she showed women at work, in the armed forces or working in factories.

In 1942, she became a war photographer and recorded the liberation of Dachau and Buchenwald.  After the war, she reinvented herself as a chef and didn’t allude to her experiences as a photographer. So, it was a surprise to her son when, on her death in 1977, he found thousands of prints and negatives in the attic.

At the Fondation Van Gogh, Arles, as part of the ‘Les Rencontres’ photography festival. Until 25 September.

(*) For more info, I can heartily recommend ‘Lee Miller, on Both Sides of the Camera’, by Carolyn Burke. It’s a fascinating biography of this complex woman. Published by Bloomsbury.