Petworth: a lifelong friendship with Pablo Picasso explored

Spokeswoman Raquel Fonseca Cambeiro said: “The new exhibition will unravel and chronicle the extraordinary life of Vogue model turned war correspondent Lee Miller, a pioneer in Surrealist art, fashion and photojournalism. The exhibition will focus on the artist’s relationship with Picasso and moments lived together, captured by Miller before and during the Second World War, the aftermath and beyond. The exhibition will also tell the unlikely story of Picasso’s accidental discovery of Sussex where Lee Miller would eventually reside with her family.

“Lee Miller (1907-1977) first met Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) in 1937 in the south of France. Miller was establishing her reputation as a Surrealist photographer. It was here where she first photographed Picasso and their circle of bohemian contemporaries, beginning a series of over 1,000 photographs that would continue for almost forty years, charting their lives through some of Europe’s most dramatic historical events.

“Over 100 works, selected from this extensive body of work, will be exhibited at Newlands House. As well as an illustration of Miller’s personal life, the exhibition aims to show how the two artists were impacted by the same subjects, such as the Second World War and Surrealism.

“Divided into six different time periods, from the 1920s to the 1970s, works will include self-portraits of Lee Miller taken in New York during her time as the face of Vogue; the iconic, pre-war Picnic, Ile St Marguerite (Nusch, Paul Éluard, Roland Penrose, Man Ray, Ady Fidelin, Cannes, France, 1937); Miller’s powerful war photography; intimate portraits in Picasso’s studio (Lee Miller in his studio, Liberation of Paris, Rue des Grands Augustins, Paris, France 1944); alongside a selection of paintings, etchings, and ceramic works by Picasso. Present at the liberation of Dachau (1945), Miller’s silent rage rings through the photographs she took of the horrors she witnessed, a selection of which are on display at the exhibition.

“Three rooms within the gallery will delve deeper into Miller’s life achievements through a display of other works, Jean Cocteau films featuring rare glimpses of Miller in her acting days and personal objects, including Lee Miller’s camera and her army uniform. The exhibition journey will culminate with the artist’s post-war life and shared pursuit for peace through yet another creative career in which she excelled, that of a gourmet chef. She still visited Picasso often in the south of France, accompanying Roland Penrose on their meetings to discuss the next Picasso exhibition or publication. Her friendship with Picasso was one that she cherished and cultivated until the end of his life.”