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vative techniques such as solarisation, which created a halo around the subject and gave the photograph a mysterious, almost mysti cal aura. Miller met some of the leading figures of Surrealism and Modern ism there, including Sal vador Dalí, Max Ernst and Jean Cocteau, who cast her as the heroine of his 1930 film The Blood of a Poet , in which she plays an arm less statue. Miller’s artistic and roman tic relationship with Man Ray lasted for fewer than two years. “ I'd rather take a photograph than be one , said Miller. She quickly developed her own style and in 1932 opened her own photographic studio. Gaëlle Morel, a curator at the Ryerson Image Center who presented the exhi bition, “ Lee Miller, Profes sional Photographer (1932 1945)” at the Rencontres de la photographie d'Arles in 2022, emphasises: “ Lee Miller's work during this period reflects the milieu she evolved within. She pho tographed artists, writers

Lee Miller, (Mirror Series), 1946 . Lee Miller, (Mirror Series), 1946.

and wealthy Americans who travelled often to Europe” . She also made a name for herself as a fashion pho tographer, though most of her works from this period are surrealist images, many of them wrongly attrib uted to Man Ray. These include the Nude Leaning For ward, Condom and Tanja Ramm Under a Bell, which show the full extent of Miller’s technical maturity and conceptual sophistication. Love at first sight in Paris Miller left Paris in 1932 and did not return until 1937, after a stay in Egypt with her husband Aziz Eloui Bey. She was tired of life in Cairo and missed her surrealist friends. “ The very day she returned to Paris, the daugh ters of the great couturier Marcel Rochas invited her to a costume ball. But not having enough time to find a costume, she turned up in a simple blue dress” , says her granddaughter. She soon spotted two men dressed as vagabonds: the poet Max Ernst, his hair dyed blue, and the English surrealist writer Roland Penrose, with his hair dyed green and a blue right hand. Between Miller and Penrose, it was love at first sight. She soon became close friends with Picasso, Dora Maar and the

l’appartement-atelier de Man Ray au 31 bis rue Cam pagne-Première (Paris 14 e ). C’est là que le duo colla bore sur de nombreuses œuvres photographiques et expérimente des techniques innovantes comme la solarisation, une méthode qui crée un halo autour des sujets, conférant aux photographies une aura mysté rieuse et quasi mystique. C’est aussi dans ce quartier qu’elle rencontre des figures majeures du surréalisme et du modernisme : Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst et Jean Cocteau, qui en 1930 l’immortalise sur pellicule. Dans son film Sang d’un poète , elle incarne l’héroïne, une statue sans bras. L’aventure artistique et amoureuse avec Man Ray dure moins de deux ans. « Je préfère prendre une photo qu’en être une » , résume Lee Miller. La jeune femme déve loppe rapidement son propre style et ouvre son studio de photographie en 1932. Sa petite-fille, Ami Bouhas sane, a même inauguré une plaque à son nom en 2022 à l’adresse de celui-ci, au 12 de la rue Victor-Considérant (Paris 14 e ). Gaëlle Morel, conservatrice au Ryerson Image Center de Toronto et commissaire de l’exposition « Lee Mil ler, photographe professionnelle (1932-1945) »

DAVID E. SCHERMAN - COURTESY LEE MILLER ARCHIVES, ENGLAND 2024. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. LEEMILLER.CO.UK.

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