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Written by Carolyn Burke

• Format: Hardcover, 448 pages
• Publisher: Knopf
• On Sale: November 15, 2005
• Price: $35.00
• ISBN: 978-0-375-40147-3 (0-375-40147-4)

about this book

A thorough and astute exploration of the life and work of model/photographer Lee Miller, one of the iconic faces—and careers—of the mid-twentieth century. Carolyn Burke reclaims this world-class photographer as an important—albeit controversial—figure, renowned not only for her incredible beauty but also for her many talents.

Burke reveals Lee Miller as a truly multi-faceted woman, one who was both model and photographer, dancer and war correspondent, mother and gourmet cook. At the tender age of nineteen, Miller posed for the cover of Vogue, a sleek blonde bombshell who symbolized the nation's latest vision of the modern woman. She was instantly caught up in the glamour and sexual heat of New York and Paris in the '20s and '30s. And then just over a decade later, in the midst of World War II, she became a war correspondent, shooting harrowing images of a devastated Europe, entering Dachau with the troops, posing in Hitler's bathtub in Munich. Over her lifetime, Lee Miller would undergo several such dramatic transformations. She led a busy and vibrant social life in artistic circles that spilled over into her studio, close to the likes of Pablo Picasso and Charlie Chaplin. Yet she had a troubling childhood and an often tumultuous love life, which we learn as Burke examines Lee Miller's various relationships and probes the depths of her psychology. From the unsettling photo sessions during which young Lee (then called Elizabeth) posed nude for her father in Poughkeepsie, to her torrid Parisian affair with Surrealist photographer Man Ray, we see Lee Miller by turns confident and insecure, jealous and cool-headed, passionate and listless.

Another equally fascinating story is to be found in the study of Miller's photographs themselves. Via the images she envisioned through the lens of her camera, as well as the images for which she posed, we follow Miller's journey from object to subject, her interest in form and pattern, her mesmerizing attention to light (including her accidental discovery of a photo-developing technique that became known as solarization), her focus on the hands as the most expressive part of the body—all of it culminating in the stunning emotion behind each of her photographs.

This wonderful biography combines thoughtful insights into Lee Miller's personal life with measured analysis of her copious body of work. Through meticulous research and unfaltering attention to detail, Burke assembles a compelling narrative, piecing together anecdotes, journal entries, correspondence, and lush images to tell a story of art and beauty, sex and power, Modernism and Surrealism, independence and collaboration. This portrait is sensitive, yet honest; affectionate, yet observed with a clear eye. It is both a celebration and a careful scrutiny of the life of one of the twentieth century's most visible, yet enigmatic figures.

“Illuminating . . . As a disciple of Alfred Steichen and devotee and lover of Man Ray in Paris, [Miller] played the ingénue a little but was more knowing than all that; indeed, she recalled, she was a bit of a fiend. Ray came eventually to regard her as a threat, though it was likely for the ever-deepening quality of her work as a photographer. [She] had the kind of life that the present-day bohemian can only aspire to; yet Miller fully came into her own as a combat correspondent (for Vogue) in Europe during WWII . . . Burke’s graceful biography restores Miller to attention; students of art photography, in particular, will want a look.”–Kirkus Reviews

“[Miller’s] surrealist background led her to taking stunning photos of the London Blitz, but she shot her most memorable—and disturbing—images accompanying American troops from Paris to Dachau as a war correspondent for Vogue. Burke’s meticulously detailed biography reveals how keenly Miller’s wartime experiences haunted her during her final troubled decades, but it also probes sympathetically into the artist’s other significant trauma . . . Burke writes with a careful sense of how Miller might have approached her work and of how it is perceived by modern viewers. Her descriptions of Miller’s imagery are so vivid that, despite the dozens of photographs reproduced here, readers will find themselves wanting to see more. As the first major biographer outside the Miller family, she traces a dynamic life that embodies the spirit of the 20th century’s first half.” —Publishers Weekly

“Those who knew [Miller] say that she always provided an intriguing study in contrasts. A model-turned-photographer-turned-war correspondent, she later added gourmet chef to that list of hyphenates. In her world, a closetful of Vionnet gowns and combat boots made sense . . . Unlike other books on Miller, which consist mostly of photographs, [this] is a thoroughly researched account of her life [and] remarkably diverse accomplishments . . . Miller’s life unwound like a mad Surrealist film–the cast of characters and roles she would play were wildly colorful and made for quite outré stories . . . She had lived, by the end, many extraordinary lives . . . Captivating.”
—Venessa Lau, W magazine

“Burke is a fluent, illuminating biographer who chooses her subjects wisely . . . [A] galvanizing story . . . Miller’s experiences are heart-stopping, her virtuoso photographs indelible, but she has been largely overlooked. Now, thanks to Burke’s masterful portrayal, readers will know the entire kaleidoscopic life story of this inspiriting survivor, extraordinary photographer, and daring witness to humankind at its dazzling best and monstrous worst.” —Donna Seaman, Booklist

“An engrossing narrative [in] fluent prose . . . [Burke] makes a strong case for her subject’s place as a quintessential modern woman and an accomplished photographer. But besides expanding Miller’s circumscribed popular image, Burke’s portrait leaves the impression of an extraordinary personality–daring, playful, strong-willed–and a life of not always enviable intensity, with decades of creativity, travel, and amorous adventure, sandwiched between childhood trauma and the depression that darkened Miller’s later years . . . Burke astutely describes and analyzes Miller’s photographs . . . She treats the final phase [of Miller’s life] with sensitivity, [but] forthrightly discusses the reality of her subject’s depression . . . Her portrait is so vivid, her research so exhaustive and aptly deployed, that Miller comes to life.” —Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow, Washington City Paper

“Powerful, in-depth . . . [Lee Miller: A Life] sheds light on this dynamic woman, revealing her inner turmoil, her passions, and her demons . . . Burke explains that to understand someone like Lee Miller, one must look at the world through her eyes, and the author achieves this . . . Readers interested in art, history, and photography will have a wonderful time getting to know this fascinating woman.” —Patti Ross, San Antonio Express-News

“A biographer couldn’t ask for a more compelling subject, and Lee Miller couldn’t have asked for a more insightful and eloquent biographer. Carolyn Burke writes with lucidity and energy. As adept a storyteller as she is an ardent scholar, she is generous with details yet never gets bogged down. Fluent in the nuances of ambiguity and cued to the obdurateness of paradox, she provides thoughtful and measured analysis that is genuinely enlightening and never intrusive . . . Miller’s story of personal reinvention and artistic evolution blazes right along, and Burke feeds the flames with just the right mix of straight-ahead chronicling and shrewd commentary, steering the reader to the apex of Miller’s life, her courageous and artistic response to World War II . . . No one who reads Burke’s involving biography will ever forget Miller. So visually rich and electrifying is her story, a movie version seems inevitable. But whatever interpretations the future may bring, Burke’s vital and incisive portrait will be the wellspring. Demonstrating the same clarity of observation and sensitivity to subtleties that distinguish Miller’s photographs, Burke indelibly portrays a radiant woman forced to look into the heart of darkness, and an artist who cast light on a brutalized world, illuminating its abiding beauty and grace, and enhancing our empathy and awe.”
—Donna Seaman, Chicago Tribune

“Compelling, riveting . . . It seems fitting that Carolyn Burke, whose first biography corrected history’s error of undervaluing the avant-garde poet and artist Mina Loy, has written Lee Miller: A Life. [Miller is] a forgotten visionary photographer who was muse and lover to some of the most influential artists of the early 20th century, as well as one of the few women able to transcend this role and become an artistic force in her own right . . . The photograph that may give the truest glimpse into Miller’s nature is a portrait shot in Hitler’s bathtub . . . A woman caught between horror and beauty, between being seen and being the seer.” —Elissa Schappell, New York Times Book Review

“Illuminating, revelatory, perceptive . . . A welcome and long overdue biography sure to become essential reading for any student of the history of art and photography in the 20th century. [Burke] strips away the myth to uncover not only Miller’s artistic achievement, but her true character . . . Such is the subtlety of Burke’s approach to her subject that almost by stealth the reader becomes aware, in a similar way perhaps in which it dawned on the young Lee Miller herself, that she was destined to be something special. [Burke writes] with poignant acuity [and] bring[s] her subject to life . . . [Lee Miller: A Life] reads not only as serious biography but often like a picaresque novel . . . More than a biography, this book provides a rare and valuable sideways look at the mid-20th century avant-garde and high-society . . . It takes the reader deeply and unforgettably into the psyche of the strange little girl from Poughkeepsie who grew to become one of the most extraordinary women of her time.” —Iain Gale, The Scotsman (UK)

“There are the rare artists who lead not just one, but a whole fistful of remarkable lives, any one of which might make a juicy feature film, crammed with sex, danger, celebrity and fun. At which point, cue Lee Miller . . . [Lee Miller: A Life] does its complicated subject more than justice, adding welcome depths and nuances to the familiar legend . . . Burke relates all this with sympathy and fluency.” —Kevin Jackson, Sunday Times (UK)

“Fascinating, remarkable, memorable . . . [A] singular life . . . It’s one of the great joys of reading: a story about someone you’ve never heard of, giving you insight into something you didn’t know you cared about. That’s the gift from author Carolyn Burke . . . A captivating read, one that raises questions in the reader’s mind about how things have changed–and how they’ve stayed the same–in women’s lives over the past century . . . Burke’s book is what biography ought to be . . . Lee Miller: A Life belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in how people of [Miller’s] generation dealt with their times.” —Tom Honig, Santa Cruz Sentinel (December 10, 2005)

“[Miller’s photographs] are hard to forget. Until relatively recently, however, Miller’s fame, as a flawless beauty, photographic collaborator and model, overshadowed her artistic legacy. This first full-length biography . . . shows how Miller’s complex nature contributed to this neglect . . . The biography truly comes to life when [Miller] became a war correspondent . . . Carolyn Burke’s sympathetic tribute sheds further light on the lives of this highly original, often misunderstood woman.” —The Economist

“Meticulous . . . Lee Miller was an astounding woman, brought memorably to life in this astounding book.” —The Telegraph (UK)

“Delightful, meticulously researched, fascinating . . . [Miller] was a woman who needed no exhortation from anyone to “Live! Live!” Her life was filled with adventures . . . Miller’s life had many phases, all of them interesting, and Burke captures them in [this] fine biography.” –Kunio Francis Tanabe, Washington Post Book World

“At last, a life and an album about Lee Miller, one of the most beautiful women who ever lived . . . A remarkable book . . . [Burke] lets the facts speak for themselves. And the facts are vivid . . . For the first time the ravaged arc of Lee Miller’s life is clear, beautiful but lined in pain.” —David Thomson, New York Observer

“[Lee Miller’s] peregrinations reminded me of innumerable others’–Lillian Hellman, Martha Gellhorn, Rebecca West, and Jill Craigie . . . [But] of all the women I have in mind, Miller strikes me as the most heroic. [Miller’s photographs] dramatize art and history, making both more accessible . . . Burke brilliantly draws on Miller’s own history to understand the photograph [of Miller in Hitler’s bathtub]. Gellhorn, Hellman, West, and Sontag never acknowledged just how self-conscious they were about writing themselves into the world’s consciousness. Miller is their superior in understanding what it meant to model yourself after others in order to make yourself the next model . . . Miller was an exceptionally honest artist-observer, one who knew just how deeply implicated she was in her scenes . . . This handsomely produced and impeccably written and researched book is surely a state-of-the-art biography.”
—Carl Rollyson, New York Sun

“Superb . . . Just as Miller lived what seemed like 10 lives, so Burke has done enough work for 10 books. The effect is never stifling, however. [Burke] never let[s] a good tale slip by. She is the ultimate photographer’s assistant: setting up the background against which her subject can shine, clever, capable, sympathetic, and never in the way.”
—Alison Rowat, The Herald (UK)