Lecture
Lee Miller–Cartier-Bresson: Capturing the Moment, Traversing History
Saturday, January 9, 2027Lecture by Léa Lefebvre
Two perspectives, two journeys, two ways of photographing the world: capturing the moment, preserving its trace, moving through time, and telling the story of an era. From Surrealist circles to war reportage, Lee Miller and Henri Cartier-Bresson chose photography to bear witness to History as it unfolded. Both travelled the world, capturing the ephemeral—the decisive, fleeting moment that would become part of collective memory. Amid the upheavals of the twentieth century, their artistic vision confronted historical reality. This lecture looks back at Lee Miller’s photographic life, on both sides of the lens. From fine-art photography to photojournalism, she recorded a reality that had itself become surreal. She faced History head-on, bore witness to the unthinkable, photographed it, named it—and then came close to being forgotten.
About the speaker
Léa Lefebvre
In her writing and research, Léa Lefebvre approaches the world through the intersection of its political, social, and artistic contexts. An independent art history lecturer, she teaches contemporary art history and the history of photography at Sciences Po Aix, among other institutions.
She holds degrees in art history, political science, and cultural policy, and focuses her research on the notion of subversion.
As an independent curator, she has worked in galleries in Marseille and co-founded an artists’ collective dedicated to the production of artworks and exhibitions. She supports emerging artists while collaborating with several art and general-interest magazines.