Kotex, The Career Killer?
The Guardian article reports that Lee was blacklisted for appearing in an advertisement for Kotex products. According to Antony Penrose in Lives, Lee entered modelling history when her image was featured as the first model for a feminine hygiene product, albeit without her knowledge. Penrose further contends that this advertisement appeared on July 28th, 1928, effectively ending Lee’s modelling career. The advertisement did appear, at least in two magazines outside of Vogue, McCall’s magazine in July, 1928 and Delineator magazine in March, 1929. An additional advertisement for Kotex, with a different model, but which does appear to be a Steichen photograph, was published in October of 1928.
While the advertisement may have generated some controversy, it did not end Lee’s career as evidenced by photographs published by Vogue. A survey of the online Vogue archive reveals that Lee’s appearances in the pages of Vogue New York were very sparse and limited to the year 1928. According to the Vogue archives, Lee appeared as follows:
July 15th, 1928 and July 15th, 1928
Penrose’s representation is questionable since fashion photos of Lee appeared in New York Vogue as late as September 1928 following the Kotex publication. Additionally, it is very difficult to understand how it can be said that the Kotex advertisement ended Lee’s fashion career when Vogue itself published the advertisement on August 15th, 1928, and February 16th, 1929. Whatever controversy there may have been, it certainly didn’t rise to the level of ending her career, although it may have upset her family members and her boyfriend at the time, Alfred DeLiagre Jr.
The narrative of Lee’s modelling career in Lives is that of a highly successful and sought-after fashion model. The objective photographic evidence does not support this conclusion by virtue of the photographs published of Lee and the absence of photographs of her as a model in other fashion magazines. It is worth a moment to look at Lee’s own words in an interview with Mario Amaya on the subject of her modelling in New York:
“Steichen used to take a lot of fashion and advertising pictures using me. He was a wonderful man. Occasionally I did advertising for him and therefor I would be paid by him and I’d sign a release. Or, if I posed for Vogue then the fashion pictures would be their property. Or an advertising agency” (1).
Lee’s description is precisely that of a contract model working for a photographer on call. She was not a Vogue model, and she does not appear to have done modelling for other fashion magazines. Her description also accords perfectly with the employment arrangement that Steichen had with Condé Nast wherein he was Vogue’s principal fashion photographer but was allowed to work in commercial photographs so long as he did not do so for a competing publication.
Lee appears to have worked only professionally for Steichen whether it be for Vogue agencies or direct clients with whom Steichen had contracts. There does not appear to be any published fashion photos of Lee outside of 1928 before and after the publication of the Kotex advertisement and it would have had no effect on her commercial work. The ornamental importance of the Kotex advertisement is directly related to the magnitude of Lee’s New York fashion modelling career, which begs the question, what career?
Can you Help?
At times it is difficult to be certain that research, no matter how thorough, has fully explored all original sources. For example, while it is possible to search archives, one needs the subject’s name, and it may be that Lee appeared in photographs without being named in Vogue or other fashion magazines. By way of example, Lee is not named in the Vogue Kotex advertisements because she is not modelling fashion for Vogue. By way of additional example, found by happenstance, is a photo in a newspaper feature of Georges White taking applications for chorus girls. This photo appears to have Lee as one of the applicants, but she is not named and is wearing a loose dress so her body type may be different than Lees and a conclusion is difficult to make. The purpose of this forum is first and foremost to bring a correct perspective to the life of Lee Miller and as such, conclusions are always subject to challenge and correction. It would be greatly appreciated if anyone could share information evidencing the following:
1. Any published fashion photographs in New York of Lee that:
a) are in fashion magazines other than Vogue.
b) by photographers other than Edward Steichen.
c) taken in 1927-1929.
Footnotes:
(1) Amaya, Mario (May/June 1975) My Man Ray Art News In America (page 54)