One of the blessings of living in a City with many museums
are the number of digestible exhibits organized. Man Ray/Lee Miller: Partners
in Surrealism at the Legion of Honor gave me a sense of these artist-partner-collaborators.
I had cursory understanding of May Ray’s Surrealism and
Dadaism and even less so of Lee Miller. What is striking about the exhibit is
how the development of their relationship (first as student-teacher, then as lovers, and
finally as collaborators) and how it is reflected in the work they did from
1929-1932 while they were in Paris. Their relationship was more complex that
one of artist-muse. They influenced each other even after their relationship
ended. One is filled with pathos for the loss Man Ray feels after Lee Miller
ends the relationship and leaves to New York; he had it bad for her. And one
can only imagine the impact on Lee Miller of being a war photographer in Europe
during World War II and the subsequent depression she suffered. Through their lives
they maintained love and friendship for each other as May Ray writes in a
letter as the last item in the exhibit.
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| May Ray Les Larmes 1932 (c) Man Ray Trust |
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| Lee Miller Self-Portrait nude (c) 1933 |
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| Lee Miller Paris Under Snow 1945 (c) Lee Miller Archives |
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