Lee Miller’s life was truly stranger than fiction, but I would urge you not to brush up on the astounding details before this blockbuster retrospective at Tate Britain. And try to push Kate Winslet’s (admittedly wonderful) performance in the 2023 film Lee from your mind. Instead, book out an hour or two of your time and immerse yourself in this sharply curated exhibition, which tells Miller’s story through her own impeccable eye. The exhibition's careful pacing gives the audience space to discover for themselves what a consummate talent Miller was, alongside putting herself at the cutting edge of culture and history for decades.
Curators Hilary Floe and Saskia Flower spent five years researching this show, which brings together about 230 vintage and never-before-printed photographs. Arranged chronologically, it begins with Miller as a Vogue cover girl in 1927, ending with a rarely seen self-portrait of the artist from 1950. Miller went on quite the journey in between, and the show takes you along for the ride. And yes, the infamous portrait of her washing off the filth of Dachau in Hitler’s own bathtub is there — as you’ve never encountered it before.
