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We find ourselves in the heart of Bloomsbury country, immersed in the enchanting lanes and rolling hills of East Sussex, where the revered homes of Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, and their circle attract crowds of admirers. However, we choose the road less traveled, leading us to Farleys House in the village of Muddles Green. This is the former residence of English painter Roland Penrose and his American wife, Lee Miller, a Vogue model turned war correspondent, making it the epicenter of British Surrealism.
Penrose and Miller, both charismatic individuals, welcomed famous artists such as Picasso, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, and Leonora Carrington into their remote farmhouse. Glamorous as it may sound, Surrealism was scorned by the art establishment during that time. The Tate even referred to it as “Sewer Realism.”
The quaint, idyllic exterior of the house offers no hint of the eclectic and visually stimulating interior that awaits. The brightly painted walls clash harmoniously, while asymmetrical rooms showcase modern artworks alongside traditional furnishings. Corridors adorned with family heirlooms and ethnographic sculptures add to the ambience. Remarkable features include a hand-painted Picasso tile behind the kitchen Aga and a staircase poetry installation by Paul Eluard.
Our sarcastic guide points out that there is also a considerable amount of “junk” or “objets trouvés” elevated to “objets d’art”.
© Tony Tree © Lee Miller Archives, England 2013. All rights reserved.
Penrose and Miller became acquainted in 1937 and tied the knot a decade later. Miller honed her photography skills under the guidance of Surrealist artist Man Ray in Paris and eventually established her own studio. She was one of the few female photographers accredited to accompany the Allies during World War II, capturing iconic images of the D-Day landings and being among the first to enter Buchenwald and Dachau. In a whimsically staged photograph, Miller sits in Hitler’s bathtub in Munich, taken on the same day he and Eva Braun died by suicide.
The museum not only recounts Miller’s life but also delves into the story of her overshadowed son. Amidst displays of Miller’s Rolleiflex camera, typewriter, and photographs, there is a snapshot of Picasso cheerfully holding a three-year-old boy. Antony Penrose, born in 1947, spent most of his childhood under the care of a nanny as his mother battled with deteriorating mental health.
Miller’s experiences during the war were traumatic, leaving her with what is now recognized as PTSD, followed by postnatal depression after Antony’s birth. “She was horrified by motherhood,” Penrose reveals. Miller turned to alcohol, and later, Penrose discovered that she had been a victim of sexual abuse as a child—a revelation that shed light on her underlying unhappiness.
Desiring a creative reawakening, Miller abandoned her camera and immersed herself in the kitchen. She spent countless hours there, enlisting her guests to assist in chopping vegetables while she concocted Surrealist dishes like Green Chicken, Upside Down Onion cake, and Pink Cauliflower Breasts.
It wasn’t until after Miller’s passing in 1977 that Penrose stumbled upon a treasure trove of 60,000 negatives and dispatches hidden in the attic. “I couldn’t believe she had done all this,” he reflects. In cataloging what would become the Lee Miller Archives—and his life’s work—he finally began to truly know his mother. “I didn’t shed tears for her until I started writing her biography… It was an extraordinary journey of understanding.”
A film adaptation based on Penrose’s 1985 biography, produced by and starring Kate Winslet, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September. Following its release, Penrose muses that everything will change, gesturing wistfully toward the house. Undoubtedly, Muddles Green will soon find itself firmly on the map.
Tours available from April to October; farleyshouseandgallery.co.uk
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