Photographs by Lee Miller and Kate Winslet at Bonhams

Surrealist and fashion photographer, model and pioneering war correspondent, Lee Miller (1907-1977) was a force of nature who had an exceptional career. Yet, for a long time, it remained hidden – even from her son – with all of her negatives and photographs stored away in the attic at her home, Farleys in East Sussex. 

Since her powerful images came to light, her son Antony Penrose and granddaughter Ami Bouhassane have worked to ensure her legacy lives on. Last year the first narrative movie about her life during the war, LEE starring Kate Winslet, was released by Sky, with Winslet nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.

Bonhams has collaborated with Farleys House & Gallery: Home of the Surrealists to bring its exhibition Lee & LEE to London this month. The exhibition, curated by Ami Bouhassane and producer of LEE Kate Solomon, pairs Lee Miller's iconic war photographs with their counterparts from the 2024 feature film. The exhibition will run January 13-24 at Bonhams New Bond Street.

Lee & LEE showcases comparative images of Lee Miller's wartime reporting alongside photographs of meticulously researched scenes recreated for the film by official photographer for LEE, Kimberley French. The exhibition will also feature photographs by Kate Winslet taken on set using a Rolleiflex camera, built specially as a replica of Lee Miller's own camera at Farleys. The exhibition will also include props from the film including a prop typewriter.

India Phillips, Bonhams Managing Director, UK, said: "Lee Miller was such a pioneering figure with an incredible force of spirit and keen photographic eye. The film LEE has helped further solidify her legacy as not only a Surrealist icon, but also an exceptional war photographer, determined to show the world the truth of the conflict."

Expressing her admiration for Miller, Kate Winslet, in a foreword for the recent publication Lee Miller Photographs, added: "There are so many stories of girls to whom things happened. Lee Miller was a woman who made things happen. I don't mind admitting I adore her. This photographer-writer-reporter did everything she did with love, lust, and courage, and is an inspiration for what you can achieve, and what you can bear, if you dare to take life firmly by the hands and live it at full throttle. Her legacy is extraordinary."

LEE tells the story of Lee Miller (Winslet) and in particular the part she played during the Second World War. Determined to document the truth of the Nazi regime, and in spite of the odds stacked against female correspondents, Lee captured some of the most important images of World War II. Her archive of images from this time remained undiscovered at Farleys until after her death.