Ami Bouhassane on Lee Miller

The Great Women Artists

Katy Hessel

Arts

4.8 • 877 Ratings

🗓️ 21 October 2019

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In Episode 05 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews Ami Bouhassane on the life and work of her grandmother: the model turned surrealist, photographer, war correspondent and all-round 20th century artistic giant, LEE MILLER!! And WOW will this episode blow you away. Especially when you hear that Ami’s father, Antony Penrose, was unaware of his mother’s professional photographic life until after she passed away in 1977... Born in 1907, Lee Miller first entered the world of photography in New York after falling into the arms of Conde Nast on a Manhattan street. It didn't take long before she was already on her way to Paris, in particular the studio of Man Ray, with whom she created some of the most iconic surrealist photography. Fast forward to 1932 and she's back in NYC at the height of the depression where she excelled running her own commercial photographic studio. Off again, back to Paris via Egypt, and then the UK at the outbreak of World War II, where Lee quickly adopted the role of a war correspondent, photographing on the front line, but also ensuring that she was recording women’s contribution to the war. However life took a turn after witnessing some of the most horrific scenes that war was to bring. I couldn’t be more delighted to interview Ami on her grandmother who is one of the MOST remarkable artists to live, whose story needs to be told, AND whose work needs to be seen. We recorded the episode down at Farley's Farm, on the site of Miller’s former home, where where Ami and her father Antony continue to run the archive, gallery (that you can visit!), and ensure the legacy of the great Lee Miller. See more info here: https://www.farleyshouseandgallery.co.uk/ WORKS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE Lee Miller's front cover for Vogue https://bit.ly/2BwRqlD Paris: Nude https://bit.ly/2pFRSuY Egypt: Portrait of Space, 1937 https://bit.ly/2P5bZgR World War II images: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/lee-millers-second-world-war Fire Masks, Hampstead: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/sep/19/lee-miller-a-womans-war-exhibition-imperial-war-museum-second-world-war-dachau-hitler#img-1 Lee Miller's cookbook: https://www.leemiller.co.uk/article/Award-winning-book-Lee-Miller-A-Life-with-Food-Friends-amp-Recipes/pJV_ykrXKJusXwM7yD3-Hg..a Further reading: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/l/lee-miller/ https://www.eiderdownbooks.com/product-page/lee-miller-by-ami-bouhassane Thank you for listening!! This episode is sponsored by the Affordable Art Fair: @affordableartfairuk Follow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Artwork by @thisisaliceskinner Sound editing by @_ellieclifford / @naomiabel Music by Ben Wetherfield

Transcript

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0:00.0	Just this past October, our wonderful sponsor, the affordable art fair celebrated their 20th anniversary in style,
0:08.0	back where it all began in Battersea Park in London.
0:12.0	And wow, what a selection of artworks they had on view, from prints, paintings, sculptures and ceramics, and a lot of women, I may add.
0:19.0	If you missed out on this year's edition, or like me, are still dreaming about that perfect
0:23.6	artwork that got away, then do not worry.
0:26.5	Head online to browse the same handpick selection of emerging and established living
0:30.4	artists as you'd find at the fair.
0:32.7	Whether you're looking to purchase your very first piece, or perhaps it's that last
0:36.2	blank spot on your walls, there's a wealth of advice and inspiration on everything from interior design to art buying trends
0:42.7	to help you make that all-important art-buying decision.
0:46.3	Discover the joy of collecting art on affordableartfare.com, and thank you to our sponsor,
0:51.1	the affordable art fair for making this podcast possible.
1:05.9	Hello everyone and welcome to The Great Women Artist podcast with me, Katie Hessel.
1:11.9	Some of you might know me from The Great Women Artists, an Instagram account I set up in October 2015,
1:17.7	which celebrates female artists on a daily basis, ranging from young graduates to old masters.
1:24.2	Well, in a similar fashion to the Instagram, this podcast is all about celebrating female artists from a variety of backgrounds and histories. And I am so excited to be interviewing
1:29.1	artists on their career or artists, writers, curators or general art lovers on the women
1:34.3	artist who means most of them. What I want this podcast to do is celebrate female artists in all
1:40.4	different capacities so you, the listener, can gain a look into the greatest female
1:44.8	artists working now or from art history.
1:52.9	I'm so excited to say that my very special guest today is Amy Buhasane, the granddaughter
1:59.6	of the absolutely exceptional artist, surrealist, war photographer,
	...

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