Lee Miller par Lee Miller

Lee Miller par Lee Miller

by marlies|dekkers

‘They had style, they had grace, Rita Hayworth, gave good face’. When Madonna sang those lines in ‘Vogue’, she could easily have been singing about Lee Miller. Yes, the American beauty was born with incredibly photogenic features – bright bleu eyes, killer cheekbones, the most sensual lips – but she also knew exactly how to work the camera and embody every modern woman’s ideal: from fearless ‘flapper’ to androgynous ‘garçonne‘. Lee’s expressive face projected the independence we all desired. ‘She is an American free spirit wrapped in the body of a Greek goddess’, as a friend once observed.

After getting discovered in 1927 by literally falling into the arms of Vogue publisher Condé Nast (he saved her from an oncoming car) Lee graced countless Vogue covers, quickly establishing herself as the ‘It Girl’ of the twenties and thirties. Later in Paris, the Surrealists would zoom in on specific features of Lee’s mesmerizing face. In Man Ray’s painting ‘The Lovers’, Lee’s lips dominated the sky while Picasso focused on her strong nose. No wonder Lee felt ‘picked apart’ sometimes! She had her own special weapon however: her camera. One day in her studio, Lee sat down and pressed her camera’s remote control. In the resulting picture she looks completely at ease with herself, her features more harmonious than ever. A powerful portrait of self-love. Lee signed it in French: ‘Lee Miller par Lee Miller‘*. She had reclaimed her face.

* ‘Lee Miller by Lee Miller’

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