Members and guests enjoyed another very successful day at Charlton Hall near Shaftesbury when Mr. Antony Penrose visited us to talk about his parents, the legendary Lee Miller and her husband Roland Penrose. The talks were outstanding and at times quite moving, we were shown some fascinating photographs which had been taken by Lee, and her artistic friends from 1930s -1970s. We learnt about Roland’s work as a surreal artist and Lee’s work as a fashion model, then her progression to a fashion and fine art photographer. During the Second World War Lee became a war correspondent for Vogue, covering events such as The London Blitz, the liberation of Paris and the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. Lee’s childhood had been blighted by abuse and after her experiences during the war she suffered from clinical depression and post traumatic stress disorder, but eventually battled her way through to a calmer life becoming a gourmet cook and providing photographs for her husbands biographies on Picasso and other artists. As always, this was a very sociable day with everyone chatting, getting to know other members and discussing the talks over a delicious lunch.
