Farley House and Gallery Home of Photographer Lee Miller
Following on from my last blog about Charleston House, we also visited the home of war photographer Lee Miller, whilst we were in East Sussex.
I've long been fascinated with Lee Miller, since being gifted the book "The Lives of Lee Miller" written by her son Anthony Penrose, when I was in my 20's.
Lee Miller and friend taken by Mann RLee Miller and friend taken by Mann Ray via Gagosian.com
She was a woman who lived so many extraordinary experiences throughout her life. From a vogue model, gracing the front cover of American Vogue, to muse and lover of surrealist artist and photographer Mann Ray, to war photographer and correspondant for the US army and one of the first photographers and only woman to be allowed access to the concentration camps in Eastern Europe, shortly after they were liberated. One of her most famous photographs, is of Lee sitting in Hitlers bath, after his apartment had been raided by the US army and he was found dead with his girlfriend Eva Braun. She was so familiar with the world of press and head line grabbing images, that she knew exactly how to set the shot up, moving personal items of Hitlers, such as his photograph and ornaments into the shot and leaving her muddy war torn boots on the bath mat. It has, as she knew, become one of the defining images of the Second World War & liberation.
Lee Miller in Hitlers Bath image via Youtube
The film starring and produced by Kate Winslet has just been released and Lee Miller will hopefully now get some of the recognition she deserves for her documentary photography. Farley House, which became her home after the war, is somewhere I've wanted to visit for so long and I felt very lucky to get an insight into her life with her husband, the surrealist artist Roland Penrose, as well as being able to see some of the behind the scenes photography from the film, along side the original photos taken by Lee.
This isn't the first exhibition of her work that I've seen but after I'd walked around her home, the small gallery that is in one of the outbuildings on her land, felt so intimate.
Unfortunately for the time being, there is no photography allowed in the house, as many of the items and works of art within it are by the couples friends, famous artists such as Picasso, Max Ernst and Joan Miró and the thinking behind this rule is to protect the work of the artists. I've added some images from Farleys official website and images of the garden are my own.
This unassuming wall tile was a gift, made by their friend Picasso
Images Via Farley House & Gallery
The outside of Farley House
It's an amazingly creative house as you can imagine and personal items such as Lee's type writer, which she used to type copy for Vogue and the US army, is still on her desk in the study. There are also lots of paintings by Roland Penrose on the walls and collections of quirky and whimsical pottery, mainly by Staffordshire, which Lee collected. She was an avid and experimental cook and liked to use these pieces as part of her tablescapes, when entertaining for friends.
Picasso during his visit to East Sussex when he stayed with Lee and Roland via artsy.net
The surrounding gardens, which Roland designed as a sculpture garden, are dotted with sculptures by various artists and Roland Penrose, and it's here that Lee is buried.
As well as the guided tours of the house, which is open on Thursday, Friday and Sunday from April - October, there are visiting exhibitions. At the time of our visit, there was a photography exhibition of images by French surrealist photographer Claude Cahun, born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob, who flirted and experimented with her sexuality through her photography.
I find this area of the country rich with creative history and if you are visiting, I would definitely add a visit to Farley House and gallery to your itinerary.