Lives through a lens

Experimental photographer, model, muse, fashion pioneer and World War II photojournalist: even by photographers' standards Lee Miller led an interesting life.

But there is far more to these luminous monochromes than a happy confluence of quirky positioning, strong lighting and world-famous subject: Miller's photographs seem to have absorbed their creator's quicksilver personality - they are all, much more than usual, portraits of the artist.

Often, this is very successful: she obviously loved and was inspired by artists, and she is never in awe of them. The result is some of the most human shots of Picasso ever taken: playing with his pottery, squatting by a his paintings, or displaying his ceramic doves to his old acquaintance Braque. Miro handles a bird in the zoo; the cartoonist Saul Steinberg stands with pen poised in front of an ancient hillside drawing, a delightful trompe-l'oeil only possible because of Miller's gentle irreverence.

When she's less inspired, it's immediately obvious: Dylan Thomas looks startled to have been propped so far from the camera, while the two pictures of Marlene Dietrich in a patriotic Schiaparelli coat are pretty but add nothing to the legend. This is a mixed bag, with one example of Miller and Man Ray's solarisation technique and a couple of visually fabulous but empty shots of Egypt. As well as pictures, the exhibition contains some previously unseen material that seems to sum up an era, in all its experimental excitement and historical sadness.