Women played important roles during World War II, both at home and in the battlefields. From the American iconic statement “We can do it” to the European encouragements to step out of their homes and join the war effort, women’s most important role during World War II was to do the jobs men left behind.
Having an eye for art, an aspiration for fashion and a great love for photojournalism, Lee Miller managed to capture breathtaking moments behind the devastating scenes of the World War II.

Lee Miller in steel helmet specially designed for using a camera, Normandy, France 1944 by unknown photographer. Photographer Unknown © The Penrose Collection, England 2015. All rights reserved. 

She was one of only four female professional photographers to be accredited as US official war correspondents for Vogue magazine, during the World War II and, also, a strong and powerful character encouraging women on the front line!
Marking 70 years since the end of the World War II, IWM London presents Lee Miller: A Woman’s War, a major exhibition produced in collaboration with the Lee Miller Archives and sponsored by Barclays . The 150 photographs speak about Miller’s wartime vision of women changing their destinies in the working world during the war, transforming their lives, being in control of their actions.

Anna Leska, Air Transport Auxiliary, Polish pilot flying a spitfire, White Waltham, Berkshire, England 1942 by Lee Miller © Lee Miller Archives, England 2015. All rights reserved.

Lee Miller is recognized today as one of the most important female war photographers of the twentieth century, through her work Miller offers an intriguing insight into the impact of conflict on women’s lives, detailing their diverse experiences and her own world view.

Fire Masks, Downshire Hill, London, England 1941 by Lee Miller © Lee Miller Archives, England 2015. All rights reserved.

Using her expressive pictures, she highlights the emotional and physical toll of war on women, including the photographer herself, reflecting too on the capacity of war in the front line to temporarily dissolve established divisions between the sexes.

Woman accused of collaborating with the Germans, Rennes, France 1944 by Lee Miller © Lee Miller Archives, England 2015. All rights reserved.

Alongside Miller’s striking photographs, many of which are on public display for the first time, artworks, costume, objects, documents and ephemera will contribute to this fascinating and rarely told story.
The exhibition can be visited until the 24th of April 2016 at IWM London.
You can find more details here: IWM London- Lee Miller: A Women’s War.