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Lee Miller, The Tate Gallery, 2026

This early photo booth strip got me thinking about the evolution of the self-portrait in photography. The fabulous and fascinating photographer Lee Miller regularly turned the camera on herself, carefully constructing the picture and making gorgeous prints in the darkroom. A former model, she made her own image.

The photomaton was a technology innovation on the path to today’s selfie. It’s no surprise that Lee Miller stepped into one. She was an inventor—hello, solarization—and intrepid. She embedded with the US Army as it advanced into Germany during WWII, the only female photographer to do so.

If you can, get to the exhibit of Miller’s work, now up in Paris and later this year in Chicago.