Through photographs, ‘Indestructible Lee Miller’ tells a remarkable woman’s tale

By Siobhan Morrissey, The Miami Herald
October 30, 2015

Even in death, Lee Miller steals the show.

On opening day of “The Indestructible Lee Miller” show at the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, visitors stood three deep to see black-and-white photographs by the artist and of the artist, as well as the odd work by Roland Penrose, her husband and the father of her only child. In the gallery immediately adjacent to the exhibit, viewers could stroll amid a display of Pablo Picasso ceramics without bumping into anyone.

Fire Masks, 1941 Modern exhibition digital print Scharnhorst Boy, 1945 Modern exhibition digital print Irmgard Seefried, Opera singer singing an aria from ‘Madame Butterfly’, 1945 Modern exhibition digital print Exploding Hand, c.1930 Vintage gelatin silver print Fire Masks, 1941 Modern exhibition digital print Scharnhorst Boy, 1945 Modern exhibition digital print

Picasso likely would have understood, as he, too, was smitten with her. Miller was a contemporary of Picasso’s and quite possibly his lover. In the summer of 1937, Picasso painted six portraits of Miller dressed as a woman from Arles. Her son, Antony Penrose, even wrote a book about his interaction with the artist — The Boy Who Bit Picasso — (by the way, Picasso bit him back).

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Michael Richards: Escape Plan

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José Bedia, Lucero viene alumbrando, 1992. Collection NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale; gift of Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz.

Wifredo Lam’s Legacy

Through March 14, 2027
Joel Meyerowitz, The North Wall, New York City, 2001. Chromogenic print mounted on plexiglas. Collection NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale; Gift of Joel Meyerowitz

Joel Meyerowitz: Aftermath

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Frantz Zéphirin, Ceremonie Zeïdes Medji La Mère des Erzulies (Ceremony of the Zeïdes Medji, the Mother of the Erzulies.), 2016, Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24 inches, Copyright the artist, courtesy of CENTRAL FINE and El-Saieh.

Frantz Zéphirin: The Messenger

Through October 4, 2026