Tate Britain to Host UK’s Largest Lee Miller Retrospective

Major exhibition celebrates the groundbreaking photographer’s journey from surrealist pioneer to fearless war correspondent

Tate Britain will present the UK’s most comprehensive retrospective of photographer Lee Miller this autumn, showcasing the extraordinary career of an artist who revolutionized photography across multiple genres and continents.

The exhibition, running from October 2, 2025, to February 15, 2026, will feature around 230 vintage and modern prints spanning Miller’s multifaceted practice, from her early participation in French surrealism to her acclaimed war reportage. Many works will be displayed for the first time, alongside previously unseen archival material that illuminates the full scope of her photographic legacy.

From Model to Revolutionary Artist

Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1907, Miller initially pursued painting and stage design before her experience as a professional model led her to photography. After being photographed by luminaries like Cecil Beaton and Edward Steichen in New York, she moved to Paris in 1929, where her artistic vision truly flourished.

Working alongside Man Ray, Miller helped discover the solarisation technique, which creates distinctive reversed halo-like effects through exposure to light during processing. The exhibition will feature the newly discovered “Sirène (Nimet Eloui Bey)” from around 1930-32, exemplifying this innovative approach. During this period, Miller also apprenticed at French Vogue, established her own commercial studio, and appeared in Jean Cocteau’s groundbreaking surrealist film “Le Sang d’un poète” (1930), extracts of which will be shown.

Capturing the Surreal in Everyday Life

By the early 1930s, Miller had become integral to Paris’s avant-garde circles. Her street photography transformed ordinary Parisian scenes into surreal compositions through dramatic crops, disorienting angles, and clever use of reflections. One striking early example captures semi-congealed tar oozing across pavement toward anonymous feet, demonstrating her ability to find the extraordinary in the mundane.

After returning to New York in 1932 to establish Lee Miller Studios Inc., she continued expanding her artistic reach. Her travels to Cairo in 1934 yielded the celebrated surrealist image “Portrait of Space” (1937) at the Siwa Oasis, alongside compelling documentation of contemporary Egypt and journeys through Syria and Romania.

Wartime Documentation and Iconic Images

Miller’s move to London in 1939 coincided with the outbreak of World War II, leading to some of her most powerful and historically significant work. As a leading fashion photographer for British Vogue, she created inventive images in Blitz-torn London, including “You will not lunch in Charlotte Street today” (1940) and “Fire Masks” (1941), which captured both the pathos and absurdity of wartime life.

Becoming one of the few accredited female war correspondents, Miller documented women’s contributions on the home front and harrowing scenes from battlefields across Europe. Her coverage extended through France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Hungary, and Romania, revealing both the devastation of war and the struggles of post-liberation communities.

Among the exhibition’s most extraordinary pieces are Miller’s portraits taken in Hitler’s private bath in April 1945, created immediately after she and fellow photographer David E. Scherman returned from documenting the Dachau concentration camp. These images represent a radical performative gesture and are considered among the most powerful photographs of the 20th century.

Post-War Artistic Connections

Following the war, Miller maintained strong connections with an international network of artists. The exhibition will showcase her compelling portraits of creative figures including Isamu Noguchi in New York, Dorothea Tanning in Arizona, and Henry Moore and Jean Dubuffet at her Sussex home, Farley Farm.

The retrospective concludes with a rare 1950 self-portrait showing Miller balanced precariously on a ladder between two mirrors in Oskar Kokoschka’s London studio. Looking directly into her own camera lens while surrounded by artworks, she presents herself definitively as an artist among artists.

Exhibition Details

The exhibition is supported by the Lee Miller Exhibition Supporters Circle, Tate International Council, and other major patrons. Organized by Tate Britain in collaboration with the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris and the Art Institute of Chicago, it is curated by Hilary Floe, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary British Art, working with Saskia Flower and Michal Goldschmidt.

The Lee Miller retrospective opens at Tate Britain on October 2, 2025, and runs through February 15, 2026. The gallery is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00, with tickets available through tate.org.uk. Entry is free for Tate Members, and visitors aged 16-25 can access all Tate exhibitions for £5 through Tate Collective membership.