Last week saw the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day
landings so it seemed a good time to share this arresting image by Lee
Miller that also belongs to the end of the Second World War.
Yes, I keep meaning to put together and add some potted biographies of the women surrealists I feature. Many of them had extraordinary lives, like Lee Miller, making them perfect material for my novel. Thanks for your comments!
A very wonderful post Kathy. Also a great photo, which I hadn't seen before. I see it as a surrealistic cleansing of Naziism. Lee Miller was one of the greatest artists of the past century, as I think we've talked about before, largely because she was actually there rather than viewing from afar... absolutely literally in this shot. Would you actually bathe in the same bath as Hitler? Well, I've climbed down into the gas chambers at Auschwitz (which I don't think is possible these days) and sat in the spot where a million people died - that was was pretty overwhelming. Maybe one day I'll do the same in Gaza.
Thanks, Alan. I'm quite surprised you and several others have never come across this iconic photograph, and it makes me feel I was right to include it.
Thanks for your careful reading and thoughtful comments.
I'm looking forward, with reservations, to the Hollywood film that's apparently being made about Lee Miller with, I think, Kate Winslet in the title role. There's also a pretty good novel about her by Whitney Scharer called The Age of Light. It's certainly time more people knew her story!
Thanks, Sarah. I held this one back for a long time because I realise it's very challenging but it wouldn't be right to only include cheerful examples of the women surrealists' work in The Fur Cup. Also, Lee Miller lived it so I feel that we should be brave enough to look at it.
Mine is not the only interpretation, of course, and I am interested to know if other people receive the image differently.
I thought your interpretation was insightful and evocative. We don’t really acknowledge the toll on war photographers and reporters—what a price she paid!
I hadn’t seen this photo before, thank you for sharing. This is such a powerful analysis of the image and I’m sure Lee felt all the emotional confusion you speak to. A great read, thank you.
Interesting. I never heard of her before. Thanks for sharing this!
So powerful and such a visceral consideration of the costs to her as an artist
PS just realised you have written about her before Kathy. Portrait of Space photograph
Yes, I keep meaning to put together and add some potted biographies of the women surrealists I feature. Many of them had extraordinary lives, like Lee Miller, making them perfect material for my novel. Thanks for your comments!
A very wonderful post Kathy. Also a great photo, which I hadn't seen before. I see it as a surrealistic cleansing of Naziism. Lee Miller was one of the greatest artists of the past century, as I think we've talked about before, largely because she was actually there rather than viewing from afar... absolutely literally in this shot. Would you actually bathe in the same bath as Hitler? Well, I've climbed down into the gas chambers at Auschwitz (which I don't think is possible these days) and sat in the spot where a million people died - that was was pretty overwhelming. Maybe one day I'll do the same in Gaza.
Thanks, Alan. I'm quite surprised you and several others have never come across this iconic photograph, and it makes me feel I was right to include it.
Thanks for your careful reading and thoughtful comments.
I'm looking forward, with reservations, to the Hollywood film that's apparently being made about Lee Miller with, I think, Kate Winslet in the title role. There's also a pretty good novel about her by Whitney Scharer called The Age of Light. It's certainly time more people knew her story!
Powerful.
Thanks, Sarah. I held this one back for a long time because I realise it's very challenging but it wouldn't be right to only include cheerful examples of the women surrealists' work in The Fur Cup. Also, Lee Miller lived it so I feel that we should be brave enough to look at it.
Mine is not the only interpretation, of course, and I am interested to know if other people receive the image differently.
I thought your interpretation was insightful and evocative. We don’t really acknowledge the toll on war photographers and reporters—what a price she paid!
I hadn’t seen this photo before, thank you for sharing. This is such a powerful analysis of the image and I’m sure Lee felt all the emotional confusion you speak to. A great read, thank you.
A powerful piece of writing Kathy. Thought provoking. How brave of Lee Miller & what sad consequences for her. I could not have got into that bath.
I’d not heard of her before, so thank you.