WarCos Colorado Presents:
Lee Miller
War Correspondent, Condé Nast Publications
Part One: a brief Lee Miller Biography
Early Life
Born April 23rd 1907, in Poughkeepsie, New York, Lee grew up with two brothers, and her father often used her as a model for his amateur photography. At the age of seven, while staying with family friends in Brooklyn, Lee was raped and infected with gonorrhea. Lee had problems in school as a child being expelled from almost every school she attended. In 1925, Lee moved to Paris to study stagecraft. At the age of 19, she enrolled in the Art Students League of New York to study life drawing and painting.
While living in Manhattan, Lee met the publisher of Vogue Magazine, and soon found herself as a model representing the “modern girl.” Having worked with many of the great photographers of the time, Lee traveled to Paris to apprentice with the surrealist artist and photographer Man Ray. The two worked together and eventually became lovers. Together, the two defined a distinctive visual signature in solarization photography. While in Paris, Lee became friends with many other artists including
Pablo Picasso. In 1932 Lee moved back to New York City to open her own commercial photography studio with her brother Erik. Despite gaining popularity and many famous clients, in 1934 Lee abandoned her studio to marry the Egyptian businessman Aziz Eloui Bey and moved with him to Cairo, Egypt. By 1937, Lee had become bored of Cairo, and moved back to Paris. Here she met surrealist painter Roland Penrose, with whom she moved to Hampstead London with.
World War Two
At the outbreak of WWII, Miller was still in Hampstead with Penrose. Rather than return to the US at the behest of family and friends, Lee instead joined the war effort as the official war photographer for Vogue, documenting the London Blitz. By December 1942, Lee was officially an accredited war correspondent with the US Army for Condé Nast Publications. She teamed up with American photographer David E. Scherman who worked for Life Magazine on many assignments through the war. About 20 days after D-Day Lee was in France witnessing napalm being used at the siege of St
Malo. She then went on to the liberation of France, Luxembourg, and the battle of Alsace. In 1945, Lee made her way into Germany, eventually going into the concentration camps at Buchenwald and Dachau. One of the most famous Photos of Lee during the war, is her taking a bath in Hitlers Munich apartment with the dirt of the concentrations camps on her boots dirtying his floor.
After the war, Lee suffered from severe PTSD, and she began to drink heavily. In 1947, she became pregnant from Penrose, divorced Bey, and married Penrose. Antony Penrose was born September 1947. The couple bought the Farley Farm House in East Sussex where they would be visited by artists for years, until her death in 1977.
Part Two: Lee Miller’s Uniforms
Lee began her War Correspondent career in 1942, producing pictures of the blitz, and many photographic series on women who were contributing in many ways to the war effort. As the war progressed, Lee moved to reporting in the field. She was one of just FOUR female photographers accredited as official war correspondents within the US Armed Forces. The above Photo from sometime in 1943 shows Lee (second from right) with other Female US war correspondents in England. She’s holding a Rolleiflex Automat in her hands.
Arriving in Normandy in July 1944, one of Lee’s first assignments was reporting on American Army Nurses working in a field hospital near Omaha beach. Here are two of her famous photos of the 44th Evacuation Hospital near La Cambe, Normandy:
Lee herself was a part of a photoshoot and video in Normandy, where she wore a customized photographic helmet and her class A uniform seen here:
Lee was at the heavily besieged St Malo in August of 1944, where she was the only photojournalist male or female to witness the assault on the German-held port. Here are photos of Lee at St Malo:
Uniform wise, we see Lee wearing women’s army HBTs, low quarter boots, and leggings. Around her neck she appears to be carrying a Rolleiflex of some kind, more than likely a RF111A as was popular among correspondents. She is wearing a basic Mans Army Issue wrist watch, and has a peculiar pocket book attached to her waist belt. A War Correspondent patch adorns her breast pocket, and first pattern polaroid goggles around her neck. Bottom photo Lee is sitting on the ruins of St Pierre d’Alet Church
Lee’s presence in St Malo was unauthorized and broke the terms of her accreditation. She was placed under temporary arrest, and barred from the front line. In later August 1944, Lee accompanied allied forces during their advance through North West France. A picture of her during that time can be seen here:
Here we see Lee is still carrying her Rolleiflex as well as a 35mm Zeiss Contax II. She looted this camera from a bombed out camera shop in St Malo. Her son Antony used the camera for years until the shutter ribbons broke. Still wearing her HBT uniform she is chatting with two GIs.
August of 1944, Lee was in Paris just after Liberation, and spent some time with
her old friend Pablo Picasso, seen Here:
In this photo, Lee appears to be wearing a summer weight cotton shirt, some sort of wool pants, and an Officers Cap with War Correspondent Patch. We also see her peculiar pocketbook on her belt.
In September of 1944, Lee was in Luxembourg for its liberation seen here:
So by September, the weather was getting cooler, and Lee changed to an M1943
Jacket, M1943 Pants, and her same low quarters with what appear to be German
leggings, or perhaps double buckle boots. Still carrying 35mm Zeiss Contax II in leather case around her neck.
On her way South of France, Lee arrived to the battle for Alsace in November-December
1944 seen here:
As the war pushed into Germany in 1945, Lee was along with it. While in Germany she captured many photos of dead German officers, and Lee is the person taking a photo at right in this picture:
Here Lee appears to have on an M1 helmet with “shrimpnet” as well as goggles(British??), an Arctic M41 Jacket, M43 pants, and M43 Double buckle combat boots. She appears to be shooting with her Rolleiflex camera.
On April 25th, 1945, Lee was at the Elbe River meeting between American troops and Soviet troops being seen in these pictures:
In this photo we see Lee is wearing a man’s M1943 Jacket, with an 83rd Infantry division patch affixed on the shoulder and a War Correspondents patch above the breast pocket. Wearing what appear to be German goggles, and a parachute scarf, and either wool pants or M1943 pants.
On April 30th, 1945, Lee was in Hitler’s Munich apartment where her famous photographs was taken of her in his tub seen Here:
Here we can see her M1943 Combat boots, her wool cap, wool shirt, and a better look at her wrist watch which appears to be a mans military issue watch with cotton wristband.