The Woman in the Photograph

The Woman in the Photograph by Dana Gynther

In 1929, Lee Miller heads to France. After seeing a photograph that Man Ray took of Kiki de Montparnasse, Lee decides that she MUST work for Man Ray and study his technique. Lee tracks him down and the two quickly begin a personal and professional relationship. Man declares that Lee is his muse, but as she works for him and alongside him, Lee's talents as a photographer develop. Lee seeks out her own jobs as a photographer, for Vogue, at the Sorbonne, and even stars in a Surrealist movie. Lee's independence angers the possessive Man Ray and drives a wedge between them. Lee is no longer content to simply be a muse, her artistic vision is paramount to her.

As far as the identity of the woman in the photograph, I think there are a few possibilities. I'm not referring to a specific photograph mentioned in the novel; in fact any of them will work. The woman could refer to Kiki, whose photograph by Man Ray first caught Lee's interest in his work. The woman could be Lee herself in the portraits of her taken by Man Ray. Or, the woman is the anonymous woman or muse captured on film, often cropped, edited, or "photoshopped" to bits and no longer recognizable as any specific woman, but merely an assemblage of body parts.

Based on actual events and people, I enjoyed learning about two photographers I knew nothing about.