The volume pays homage to Lee Miller (1907-1977) — pioneer of surrealist work, war correspondent, muse and icon — and places her emphatically on a par with Man Ray (1890-1976), whose work tended to overshadow hers both during her lifetime and afterwards.

Through around a hundred and forty pictures by both, plus art works and archival material lent by the Lee Miller Archives and the Fondazione Marconi, it reveals a deep but complicated relationship. Man Ray met Miller in the spring of 1929 at a Paris bar called the Bateau Ivre: she was seeking lessons, he said he did not take students and was about to leave for a holiday in Biarritz. So am I, she replied.