RichC
Well-known
Book review:The Road is Wider than Long. An Image Diary from the Balkans, July–August 1938. By Roland Penrose
Last summer, I visited Farley Farm House, the home of Lee Miller and Roland Penrose, in the village of Chiddingly, buried deep in the East Sussex countryside on England's south coast. I'd ridden my motorcycle along the winding lane in front of the house many times, but had not noticed the sign before. I stopped and booked a visit for the following weekend.
After an intimate tour of their lives and art by Tony and Amy, their son and grand-daughter, I left, fascinated by a little book penned by Roland – what he called an ‘image diary’. I found his use of photographs to create a narrative, a paean to his then new love, Lee, compelling.
Lee was a great photographer, and a master of her art, whether shooting fashion for Vogue or documenting life as a photojournalist. During the Second World War, she wielded her camera with the eye of a Surrealist and the brutal precision of a sniper.
Roland, by contrast, mostly took snapshots: he was a painter, not a photographer. But, assembled in his book, intertwined with the words of a poem, his photographs are infused with meaning. The essence of photography, for me, is its ability to tell a story, to communicate: if a photograph provokes a strong response, technique and composition become irrelevant. Individually, the photographs in The Road is Wider than Long are just aide-mémoires, but Roland, in creating this book, has made them much more.
The original book was published as a limited edition just before the outbreak of the Second World War, and is rare. However, the book has since been reprinted in various editions. I bought a cheap hard-back copy of the second edition for a couple of pounds – and found that it had a poignant handwritten dedication, ‘for Roy’, and Roland’s signature. Intrigued, I scoured the web: this is the story behind the book and the inscription.
It’s July 1938, and Europe is preparing for war. Lee Miller and Roland Penrose are in Athens, at the start of two journeys. One is their love affair – they first met the previous summer in France, but have been apart since. The other will be an idyllic exploration of Greece, Bulgaria and Romania – lands soon to be transformed forever by war and progress. Two months later, one journey ends, but the other continues: despite having grown closer, they separate, she to her home in Egypt, he to England.
Back in London, Roland created a handmade book for Lee: a poetic commentary in photographs and words on their travels and his love for her. The following June, Lee left Egypt to spend the rest of her life with Roland. His book was published that year as a limited edition, described by the publisher as ‘Surrealist poetry’.
A second limited edition was printed in 1980 for an exhibition of Roland’s art, and the copy I now own he gave to his close friend Roy Edwards, writing in it:
Roland added a new line to the reprinted edition: ‘The road was wider than long’.
A few years later, in 1984, Roland died, aged 84. It was Lee’s birthday, 23 April.
Roy Edwards, to whom my copy is inscribed, was a Surrealist poet and collagist, and had been a close friend of Roland and Lee since the end of the Second World War.
Lee’s photograph of Roland (top right) and other Surrealists picnicking at Picasso’s home at Mougin, in 1937, the year she and Roland met.
Last summer, I visited Farley Farm House, the home of Lee Miller and Roland Penrose, in the village of Chiddingly, buried deep in the East Sussex countryside on England's south coast. I'd ridden my motorcycle along the winding lane in front of the house many times, but had not noticed the sign before. I stopped and booked a visit for the following weekend.
After an intimate tour of their lives and art by Tony and Amy, their son and grand-daughter, I left, fascinated by a little book penned by Roland – what he called an ‘image diary’. I found his use of photographs to create a narrative, a paean to his then new love, Lee, compelling.
Lee was a great photographer, and a master of her art, whether shooting fashion for Vogue or documenting life as a photojournalist. During the Second World War, she wielded her camera with the eye of a Surrealist and the brutal precision of a sniper.
Roland, by contrast, mostly took snapshots: he was a painter, not a photographer. But, assembled in his book, intertwined with the words of a poem, his photographs are infused with meaning. The essence of photography, for me, is its ability to tell a story, to communicate: if a photograph provokes a strong response, technique and composition become irrelevant. Individually, the photographs in The Road is Wider than Long are just aide-mémoires, but Roland, in creating this book, has made them much more.
The original book was published as a limited edition just before the outbreak of the Second World War, and is rare. However, the book has since been reprinted in various editions. I bought a cheap hard-back copy of the second edition for a couple of pounds – and found that it had a poignant handwritten dedication, ‘for Roy’, and Roland’s signature. Intrigued, I scoured the web: this is the story behind the book and the inscription.
————————————
It’s July 1938, and Europe is preparing for war. Lee Miller and Roland Penrose are in Athens, at the start of two journeys. One is their love affair – they first met the previous summer in France, but have been apart since. The other will be an idyllic exploration of Greece, Bulgaria and Romania – lands soon to be transformed forever by war and progress. Two months later, one journey ends, but the other continues: despite having grown closer, they separate, she to her home in Egypt, he to England.
Back in London, Roland created a handmade book for Lee: a poetic commentary in photographs and words on their travels and his love for her. The following June, Lee left Egypt to spend the rest of her life with Roland. His book was published that year as a limited edition, described by the publisher as ‘Surrealist poetry’.
A second limited edition was printed in 1980 for an exhibition of Roland’s art, and the copy I now own he gave to his close friend Roy Edwards, writing in it:
For Roy
This apparition with perfumes of the past and love.
Roland
An evocation of Lee … she had died just three years earlier, in 1977, aged 70, quietly passing away one summer morning, held tightly in Roland’s arms – almost exactly 40 years after the sunlight-dappled picnics in the South of France in the year that they met.This apparition with perfumes of the past and love.
Roland
Roland added a new line to the reprinted edition: ‘The road was wider than long’.
A few years later, in 1984, Roland died, aged 84. It was Lee’s birthday, 23 April.
————————————
Roy Edwards, to whom my copy is inscribed, was a Surrealist poet and collagist, and had been a close friend of Roland and Lee since the end of the Second World War.
Lee’s photograph of Roland (top right) and other Surrealists picnicking at Picasso’s home at Mougin, in 1937, the year she and Roland met.
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Finder
Veteran
Beautiful story.
Paul T.
Veteran
Thanks for posting this.
I find Penrose - and Miller - fascinating. He supported Surrealism, organised a tour of Picasso's Guernica to raise money for the Republican cause, and although he was a pacificst, was an important figure in the development of British camouflage. I know the same happened in Germany.. I find the idea of surrealist arstists working on Dazzle camouflage, or exotic pain shcemes for Albatross biplanes, both beautiful and chilling.
There was a good story on Miller and Penrose by David Hare in the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2002/oct/26/art.photography
I find Penrose - and Miller - fascinating. He supported Surrealism, organised a tour of Picasso's Guernica to raise money for the Republican cause, and although he was a pacificst, was an important figure in the development of British camouflage. I know the same happened in Germany.. I find the idea of surrealist arstists working on Dazzle camouflage, or exotic pain shcemes for Albatross biplanes, both beautiful and chilling.
There was a good story on Miller and Penrose by David Hare in the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2002/oct/26/art.photography
tony tree
Member
festival
festival
You will pleased to know that Tony and Amy are performing during Brighton Festival again this year. Lee Miller photographs and narrative.Last year the show was brilliant. It is on May 6th at Friends' Meeting House, Brighton. Full details in 2010 Fringe programme.
tony t.
festival
You will pleased to know that Tony and Amy are performing during Brighton Festival again this year. Lee Miller photographs and narrative.Last year the show was brilliant. It is on May 6th at Friends' Meeting House, Brighton. Full details in 2010 Fringe programme.
tony t.
Kerry Negahban
Newbie
I am the rights manager of the Lee Miller Archives and The Penrose Estate. It has been brought to my attention that two of our images have been used in your review.
Although we appreciate your enthusiasm and interest in Lee Miller’s and Roland Penrose's work, displaying their work with no credit line and no permission contravenes the copyright law. Please contact me as soon as possible. Thank you Kerry Negahban
Although we appreciate your enthusiasm and interest in Lee Miller’s and Roland Penrose's work, displaying their work with no credit line and no permission contravenes the copyright law. Please contact me as soon as possible. Thank you Kerry Negahban
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Finder
Veteran
I wonder if a admin can edit the original post to remove the photos. The OP can then supply links latter.
Paul T.
Veteran
I've emailed the admin. I'm sure they'll be on to it really soon.
Kerry Negahban
Newbie
Thanks
Thanks
Thank you for removing the images and your obvious support of the Lee Miller Archives.
Thanks
Thank you for removing the images and your obvious support of the Lee Miller Archives.