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A remarkable woman who lived several distinct lives, Lee Miller's son never knew she was a photographer until rummaging around in their attic after her death, and in addition to modeling, war correspondant, photographer, international artist with other Surrealists, she was quite the spirited and strong woman who dramatically rebelled against the objectification of women. The exhibit SFMOMA, includes video http://www.sfmoma.org/media/features/miller/index.html, one of which recounts that particular story


Another Surrealist, Florence Henri, famously used doppelgängers (mirror images) in her photographic self-portraits, implying a replication of the self, perhaps so the self can be further revealed, portrayed, investigated. There's also the theatrical, shocking element (for the 1930s). Model looks so calm although effectively floating and cut in half, not unlike the beautiful women in magic shows who are seeminly cut in half with their body parts displaced. Although their psychological selves are not on display, we delight in seeing them alive and whole again in the end.

Portrait Composition, 1930

Featured in the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lisette Model, influencial photography instructor of Diane Arbus, took then closely cropped images of people on the street, whether in Nice or New York, the images are stark, forthright, sometimes mocking:

Coney Island Bather, Gambler, Albert-Alberta

Folks appearing closer up because of the crop (too bad the images are so small)