Post-war: At home

The post-war period was an anti-climax for Lee Miller after the heroics of the war. She married Roland Penrose in 1947, the year their son Antony was born. Although commissions from British 'Vogue' were often routine, Lee Miller thought-up interesting projects of her own and continued to write with arresting verve. Her final photo-essay for 'Vogue' was also her funniest: 'Working Guests' appeared in July 1953. Like many of Lee Miller's activities it was about turning the tables - this time, with wicked merriment, on the distinguished guests who arrived at the Miller/Penrose house in Sussex to be set household tasks. Painter friends weed borders and tack curtains, while Alfred H. Barr Jr, founding director of The Museum of Modern Art, feeds swill to the pigs and the 'New Yorker' cartoonist Saul Steinberg wrestles with a garden hose. The series closes with the hostess enjoying a well-earned nap.