May 18, 2006 - Sale 2080

Sale 2080 - Lot 69

Price Realized: $ 41,400
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 40,000 - $ 50,000
SIGNED BY MILLER AND JOSEPH CORNELL MILLER, LEE (1907-1977)
Untitled (Joseph Cornell Object). Warm-toned silver print, 9x6 inches (22.8x15.3 cm.), with Miller's signature on recto and Joseph Cornell's signature and inscription "For Julien, In deepest appreciation, Joseph Cornell, Nov. 1933," and Miller's hand stamp on verso. 1933
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Additional Details

Lee Miller, a woman renowned for her fabulous beauty, was discovered by Conde Nast, graced the cover of Vogue magazine, and was immortalized by all the great photographers of her day. A paramour of Man Ray she collaborated on developing solarization techniques while living with him in Paris, and ultimately emerged as a brilliant photographer in her own right.

In the 1930s she moved to New York where her innovative fashion photographs showed stylish models on location in city streets. Her career as a fine art photographer also flourished. She was associated with the legendary gallerist Julien Levy, one of the most influential art dealers of the twentieth century, participating in a group show in 1932 and a one-person exhibition --the only solo show of her lifetime--in 1933, the date of this print.

During the brief period she lived in Manhattan, Miller befriended the eccentric artist Joseph Cornell, who was also represented by Levy. According to Miller's son and biographer, Antony Penrose, Cornell was essentially bewitched by the photographer's ravishing good looks and visited her every other week, bringing one of his marvelous boxes for her apprisal. Miller was appreciative of Cornell's attentions and recognized his extraordinary talent. On occasion she photographed his sublime objects.

This photograph, which is signed by Miller, also has Cornell's signature and inscription to Levy on verso. The photograph is reproduced in Penrose's The Lives of Lee Miller, 54.