Ami Bouhassane, grand-daughter of photographer Lee Miller and Surrealist artist Roland Penrose presents, reads and shares their love letters, with guest speakers that contextualise the letters' content.
In the pre-digital age, before email and cell/mobiile phones, letters carried an importance that few who were not part of those times will understand.
The words on the pages of a love letter carry the nuances and emotions of love and desire, passion and anger in a deeply confidential way.
The urgency and the intimacy of the writers can be clearly felt in this collection of letters between Lee Miller, Photographer, and Roland Penrose, Surrealist Artist as they conduct their long-distance romance.
It begins with their meeting in Paris in 1937 and runs to 1939 when Lee Miller left her Egyptian husband Aziz Eloui Bey in Cairo and joined Roland Penrose in London at the start of World War 2. In this real-life romantic drama, the period and their connections give us a supporting cast that includes Dora Maar and Picasso, Nusch and Paul Eluard, Leonora Carrington and Max Ernst, Ady Fidelin and Man Ray.
These nearly three hundred pages of love letters show that as the relationship grew it produced and supported some of the world’s best loved art and photography. These have only been read by a handful of people since they were first written.
Guest Speakers: Antony Penrose (son of Lee Miller and Roland Penrose and Co-Director of Lee Miller Archives), Hilary Roberts (Independent Curator, formerly senior curator of photography at Imperial War Museums, London), Hussein Omar (lecturer on Modern global history, University college Dublin) and Sam Bourdouil
Lee Miller's letters read and Presented by Ami Bouhassane
Roland Penrose's letters read by Adam Grayson
Music composed by David Cullen
Series Producer: Tolly Robinson
Released to accompany the book of the letters of the same title that also contains many photographs by Lee Miller and Roland Penrose, in both colour and Black & White, that have not previously been published from the same period as the letters. We hope you enjoy this unique view into the lives of Lee Miller and Roland Penrose.
This series is the first podcast originally produced for the LoveLee supporters of the Lee Miller Archives on Patreon. Without whose support we would not be able to share this with you.
All content © Lee Miller Archives, England 2023. All rights reserved. www.leemiller.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ami Bouhassane, grand-daughter of photographer Lee Miller and Surrealist artist Roland Penrose presents, reads and shares their love letters, with guest speakers that contextualise the letters' content.
In the pre-digital age, before email and cell/mobiile phones, letters carried an importance that few who were not part of those times will understand.
The words on the pages of a love letter carry the nuances and emotions of love and desire, passion and anger in a deeply confidential way.
The urgency and the intimacy of the writers can be clearly felt in this collection of letters between Lee Miller, Photographer, and Roland Penrose, Surrealist Artist as they conduct their long-distance romance.
It begins with their meeting in Paris in 1937 and runs to 1939 when Lee Miller left her Egyptian husband Aziz Eloui Bey in Cairo and joined Roland Penrose in London at the start of World War 2. In this real-life romantic drama, the period and their connections give us a supporting cast that includes Dora Maar and Picasso, Nusch and Paul Eluard, Leonora Carrington and Max Ernst, Ady Fidelin and Man Ray.
These nearly three hundred pages of love letters show that as the relationship grew it produced and supported some of the world’s best loved art and photography. These have only been read by a handful of people since they were first written.
Guest Speakers: Antony Penrose (son of Lee Miller and Roland Penrose and Co-Director of Lee Miller Archives), Hilary Roberts (Independent Curator, formerly senior curator of photography at Imperial War Museums, London), Hussein Omar (lecturer on Modern global history, University college Dublin) and Sam Bourdouil
Lee Miller's letters read and Presented by Ami Bouhassane
Roland Penrose's letters read by Adam Grayson
Music composed by David Cullen
Series Producer: Tolly Robinson
Released to accompany the book of the letters of the same title that also contains many photographs by Lee Miller and Roland Penrose, in both colour and Black & White, that have not previously been published from the same period as the letters. We hope you enjoy this unique view into the lives of Lee Miller and Roland Penrose.
This series is the first podcast originally produced for the LoveLee supporters of the Lee Miller Archives on Patreon. Without whose support we would not be able to share this with you.
All content © Lee Miller Archives, England 2023. All rights reserved. www.leemiller.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
'When you look at your parents or grandparents it's hard to imagine them as young lovers full of adventure'
Conjuring up an extraordinary tale and extra depths to the famous photographer, Lee Miller, Ami Bouhassane shares her grandmothers love letters, held in the Lee Miller's Archives.
Episode 10. The Picasso Portrait
In this episode Roland is anxious because he is not getting any letters from Lee, whereas Lee in Egypt has just recieved delivery of the portrait Picasso painted of her that Roland had bought and sent to her, so throws a party to celebrate and share it.
'My cocktail party was a tremendous success and so much conversation and criticism was started by it, that I was cursing Picasso and all the pictures ever painted. Two or three people even thought I showed it as a deliberate insult to them and everyone and were convinced that it was all tongue in the cheek. You must remember that there are really people here who have never seen or heard of modern pictures, and that they seem to be quite normal people otherwise - - - - except for occasions like this you’d never notice that they had never thought in their lives.' wrote Lee Miller 9th March 1938
Guest Speakers: Antony Penrose (son of Lee Miller and Roland Penrose and Co-Director of Lee Miller Archives), Hilary Roberts (Independent Curator, formerly senior curator of photography at Imperial War Museums, London), Hussein Omar (lecturer on Modern global history, University college Dublin) and Sam Bardaouil (Founder & curator of ArtReorientated).
Lee Miller's letters read and presented by Ami Bouhassane
Roland Penrose's letters read by Adam Grayson
Music composed by David Cullen
Series Producer: Tolly Robinson
All content © Lee Miller Archives, England 2023. All rights reserved. www.leemiller.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.