Lee Miller (and Man Ray)

May Ray, more or less a surrealist, said "I paint what I cannot photograph, and I photograph what I cannot paint."
How poignant.

I would really suggest the documentary Lee Miller : Through the Mirror to anyone interested in the history of photography.

The interaction between (Elizabeth) Lee Miller and Man Ray raises questions about authorship and process in photography that I think are still relevant today. For example, Ray is credited with inventing the printing technique of solarization, when Miller in fact discovered it accidentally

Acting as Ray's model/lover/student from about 1929 to 1932, Miller often printed images from Ray's negatives, resulting at times in arguments about the authorship of the final piece.

Miller's own work, when apart form Man Ray, was considerably closer to documentary photography than to surrealism. Her image is more known than her name, but her story is what I'm really drawn to.