THE son of legendary surrealist and war photographer Lee Miller held art students spellbound during his talk about her life and work at Wiltshire College & University Centre’s Trowbridge campus.
Antony Penrose, an acclaimed author, photographer, curator, filmmaker, archivist and lecturer in his own right, was invited to the College as part of its Young Arts Lecture series in partnership with The Arts Society of North Wiltshire.
He told how she was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1907 and began her career as a Vogue fashion model in the 1920s and 30s. She later established a reputation for fashion and surrealist photography while having an affair in Paris and London with pioneering photographer and artist Man Ray.
He described how she became a trailblazing female combat photographer during the Second World War, after initially being denied accreditation by the British. She eventually persuaded Vogue in New York to commission her, and she spent the defining years of the war close behind the Allied forces as they pushed the Nazis back through France and Germany.
She witnessed bitter fighting and was one of the first photographers to capture images of the Nazi death camps at Dachau and Buchenwald. She herself was photographed in Hitler’s bath shortly after Allied troops occupied his apartment in Munich. Antony told how she used her boots, caked with filth from earlier that day at Dachau, to symbolically muddy the bathroom’s luxurious interior.
He told the audience how most of this remained a secret to him until after her death in 1977. The horrors of what she had witnessed haunted her and she struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcoholism. That made their relationship difficult, he said, and it was only when he and his late wife Suzanne discovered boxes of 60,000 prints and negatives, together with drafts of Vogue articles, notes and manuscripts, that he appreciated her achievements.
“Mum never spoke about the war or what she had seen, so it was a revelation,” he said.
He had been aware of her fame as a surrealist through visits to the family home by Picasso, Man Ray and Joan Miró. He used Tech Trowbridge’s cinema-style big screen to share photographs of himself as a young child with the artists, as well as many examples of his mother’s work.
He spoke passionately about her love of capturing striking images of everyday objects and situations. “She loved finding the marvellous in the ordinary,” he said.
There was silence in the auditorium as he displayed her wartime photographs, including those from Dachau. Afterwards he said: “They always make an impact and still sometimes I struggle to hold it together when I look at them.”
Rapturous applause from students and members of the arts society greeted the end of his talk and afterwards he was surrounded by students keen to talk about his mother’s work and its enduring impact.
He was pleased with the reception from the students. “I really enjoyed it, it was lovely to see so many people here and obviously they had a high level of interest,” he said after his talk. “It’s a very impressive set-up here at the College and I wish everyone here well because the College is clearly doing all the right things here.”
Conveying his mother’s passion for her work, particularly to young people, is why he delivers more than 50 lectures a year and was heavily involved in the film about her life, Lee, which starred Kate Winslet and was based on his book about her, The Lives Of Lee Miller.
“I think it’s probably more relevant to the younger people than it is to most people,” he said. “Because it’s about how if you have the passion, integrity and determination you can make a career out of doing what you most want to do in your life.
“You don’t have to be forced into some track or career that you don’t want. So if you can follow your dreams and make use of your artistic abilities, that’s the most important thing to do.”
Ann Marie Cooper, a committee member at the arts society, said inspiring young people was what prompted the partnership with the College. “I wanted us to be involved with students who are at the end of their education and thinking about careers,” she said. “To offer additional opportunities so that they can not only learn more to supplement what they’re learning on the core course, but also be inspired by people who have made their living from something artistic – and Wiltshire College is the obvious place to start.”
Owain Milford, Head of Faculty, Creative Arts, Media & Performance, was delighted the students enjoyed the event. “I was pleased to see so many of them talking about their surrealist work with Antony afterwards,” said Owain, who is taking students to a Lee Miller exhibition currently running at London’s Tate Britain in the New Year.
“They would never have had that kind of opportunity without this partnership so we are very grateful to the arts society. Being able to bring speakers of this calibre into the College is having a huge impact on the students’ experience here.”
