Born into a wealthy family, Elizabeth Miller, known as Lee, learnt photography from her father. After spending a few months in Paris in 1925 to further her artistic and cultural education, she studied painting and draughtsmanship in New York, where she started working as a model for Vogue. Upon returning to Paris in 1929, she became the assistant to the American photographer Man Ray. In 1932, Miller began to publish her own works: modernist fashion photographs with strong luminous contrasts and compositions suffused with surrealist aesthetics – combinations of unusual objects, abstract compositions, isolated body parts, mannequins, shop windows, and carrousels. She also continued to work as model for French Vogue, most notably posing for George Hoyningen-Huené.

She set up her own studio in New York in 1932, which quickly became successful, receiving commissions from advertising agencies, fashion houses, perfume and cosmetic brands, and film and theatre production companies.

At the outbreak of World War II, she remained in London, where she published several articles illustrated with photographs in British Vogue, for which she became one of the leading photographers.

Despite her ability, and courage, to shift from fashion to the most challenging form of photojournalism, she only gained recognition late in life.

Photo credit : Self-Portrait of Lee Miller, Paris, 1930