Surrealist Paris: 1929-32

Lee Miller was not only the muse of Man Ray but his apprentice and soon his collaborator. She learned from one of the greatest modern photographers, mastering lighting, printing and the process of 'solarization' - a way of reversing highlights into blacks - they discovered together. She created a self-portrait titled 'lee miller par lee miller' and contributed to Paris 'Vogue' as both model and photographer. She made portraits and satirical drawings, photographed enigmatic street scenes, elegant near-abstractions and images like 'Exploding Hand' which exemplify the 'convulsive beauty' preached by the founder of Surrealism, André Breton. She also created some of the most radical photographs of the nude of the Surrealist epoch - nudes which have been described as transforming the female torso into a phallus.