This summer, the Lee Miller Archives presents Grim Glory: Lee Miller’s Britain at War, a major exhibition and expanded publication celebrating the pioneering photographer’s powerful record of wartime Britain.
Opening at Farleys House & Gallery in East Sussex, the exhibition brings together a significant selection of photographs documenting the Blitz, civilian resilience and the vital contribution of women to the war effort, including works that have not been exhibited since 1945 and previously unseen prints.
Accompanied by a newly expanded edition of Grim Glory, featuring 50 additional photographs and an updated essay by Ami Bouhassane, the exhibition sheds fresh light on Miller’s often-overlooked role in shaping the visual narrative of Britain during the Second World War, before she became renowned for her frontline coverage of the liberation of Europe and the Nazi concentration camps.
Several of the featured photographs were published at the end of the Second World War in ‘Wrens in Camera’ (1945) but have not been exhibited since. The exhibition also includes works that have never been printed before, these photographs further demonstrate the essential and varied work carried out by women.
1943 by David E. Scherman © Lee Miller Archives,
England 2026. All rights reserved
Miller’s documentation of the women’s war effort is a rare record of this overlooked time. The accompanying revised publication, published by the Lee Miller Archives, expands upon the 2020 edition with 50 additional photographs and an updated essay by Ami Bouhassane that reconsiders Miller’s role in shaping the visual language of Britain at war.
Arriving in London just as war was declared, Lee Miller, an American citizen without a permit to work, used photography as her principle means of contributing to the war effort. Miller’s photographs of a bombed-out London were chosen for ‘Grim Glory: Pictures of Britain Under Fire’ (1941), a book intended as propaganda to appeal to American audiences, not yet involved in the war.
While Miller’s harrowing photographs from the frontlines of Europe – including Normandy, Paris, Buchenwald and Dachau – have become defining images of twentieth-century conflict, her vital contribution to documenting Britain during 1940-1944 has often remained comparatively overlooked within the wider narrative of her career. Before travelling to the European warzone, as one of just four female photojournalists accredited to the US, Miller created a visually arresting record of wartime in Britain.
Working closely with British Vogue editor Audrey Withers, Miller documented a nation adapting to conflict: civilians navigating the devastation of the Blitz, communities sheltering
underground and fashion under rationing. Notably, Miller’s images of women undertaking roles traditionally reserved for men reflected her own frustrations and aspirations. At a moment when Britain faced aerial bombardment and social upheaval,
Miller’s photographs brought together surrealist sensitivity, journalistic immediacy and profound humanity. With Miller’s perceptive photographs steering British Vogue (‘Brogue’) in a radical new direction, Audrey Withers noted that Miller ‘had borne the whole weight of our studio production through the most difficult period in Brogue’s history.’
Over nearly five decades, the Lee Miller Archives have been preserving, licensing and supporting the legacies of photographer Lee Miller and artist Roland Penrose. With Lee Miller’s manuscripts & 60,000 negatives, Miller’s son, Antony Penrose and granddaughter, Ami Bouhassane have sought to re-establish Miller as one of the most important photographers of the 20th Century, from her Surrealist work to photojournalism as a female war correspondent during WWII. The Lee Miller Archives strives to educate, support and encourage the arts; working across worldwide exhibitions, publishing and research.
‘Grim Glory: Lee Miller’s Britain at War’ is open from 30 July to 30 October. Farleys House and Gallery is open on Thursdays, Fridays, Sundays and select Saturdays 10am-4.30pm.
Find more information and book tickets here.
