Surrealist Lee Miller at Heide

Known for her austere, dreamlike monochrome photographs and personal connection to significant figures and events of the twentieth century, Lee Miller is heralded as one of the most original photographers of her time.

Now a major survey exhibition celebrating her work is arriving in Melbourne. Running from November 4, 2023 – February 25, 2024 at Heide, Surrealist Lee Miller has been curated by Miller’s son Antony Penrose and brings 100 photographs from across the artist’s career to Australia.

Dubbed a Surrealist before she even knew of the movement, Miller defied the era’s expectations of her as a woman and an artist, as well as helping to develop photography as an artform. Spanning vocations such as a Vogue fashion model, portrait and travel photographer, and frontline WWII war correspondent, Miller’s talent was being able to capture the intensity of her experiences through a unique worldview, no matter the moment.

The photographs on display at Heide lean into Miller’s Surrealist streak, showcasing her fondness for incongruity, dislocation, dark humour and the marvellous in the everyday. They cover portrait, fashion, travel and Surrealist photography in New York, Paris and Egypt, coverage of the horrors of the Second World War, and images from her creative circle, which included the likes of Man Ray, Picasso (who painted Miller six times), Max Ernst, Dora Maar and many more.

The exhibition also coincides with the release of LEE, a movie about the life of Lee Miller directed by Ellen Kuras and produced by and starring Kate Winslet as Lee Miller. Penrose’s new book Lee Miller: Photographs, with a foreword by Kate Winslet, will also be available to purchase at Heide as part of the exhibition.

See more details and book tickets.

Broadsheet is a proud media partner of Heide.