Artists on the Margins: Lee Miller and the Gendered Canon Despite being a successful photographer, with a vast portfolio, Miller's own own achievements were repeatedly eclipsed by the presence of the men in her life.

Initially a model for famed surrealist Man Ray, Lee Miller became an established photographer whose innovative works were both inspired by and in conflict with Surrealism, a movement which has long been criticised for its objectification of women. The fact that Miller does not stand as part of the artistic canon of Surrealists is, I think, testament to the sexism of the movement, and the erasure of female artists as people of agency and talent.

Miller’s ‘Untitled (Severed Breast from Radical Mastectomy)’ (1930) takes issue with this approach to women. Using juxtaposition, she satirises those who call themselves Surrealists. A breast following mastectomy is placed on a plate, arranged with fork and spoon. Miller is clear in her message; we are not just a piece of meat.

‘Portrait of Space’ (1937) is a piece which shows Miller at the heart of the surrealists. The composition and subject matter recall both Salvador Dalí’s paintings of the desert, and Man Ray’s ‘The Lovers’. The tone and contrast create something simultaneously playful and disturbing, evoking a characteristically surrealist unsettling presence. Furthermore, the photograph is said to have inspired Magritte’s ‘The Kiss’ in 1938.

Despite being a successful photographer, with a vast portfolio (surrealist and otherwise), Miller’s name rarely appears unless sidelined by those of Ray, Picasso, Penrose and more. Her own achievements were repeatedly eclipsed by the presence of the men in her life – men who, all too often, the artistic canon seems predisposed to favour.

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