“Eau de Hamster” is a print by Marjorie Lee Miller. It was discovered in an antique store in Maine. It is numbered 4/64 and signed “Marjorie Lee Miller 1981”.
It is owned by a private collector who would like to know more about it, and has sent me a copy to put online. The buyer would like to know if the artist did more zodiac prints, hopefully as bizarre as this one.
There are two other known works by this Marjorie Lee Miller, based on comparison of the signatures. These are “Committee for the Preservation of Byzantine” and the “Peaceful Kingdom”,
The prints were done between 1970 and 1980, and are all numbered and signed in a similar manner. Left to right: “Committee for the Preservation of Byzantine”, “Peaceful Kingdom”, “Eau de Hamster”.
This is not the same artist as the British Marjorie Miller (Marjorie Janet Miller, 1897-1936) who did all the Art Nouveau style women in flowing gowns, or any of the other ones who come up in a search. See disambiguation https://genderdesk.wordpress.com/2023/03/09/marjorie-miller-disambiguation/. It is someone different, Marjorie Lee Miller.
Very little is known about this artist, but here is what has been discovered so far, about the artist and the works.
Works
“Eau de Hamster”
This was discovered in an antique shop in Maine in 2023.
Here is a closeup of the signature line.
“Committee for the Preservation of Byzantine”
This is signed and dated 1980. It sold for 100 Swedish krona, about $10 USD, in 2018. The auction house, Metropol Auktioner, is based in Stockholm, Sweden.
“Committee for the Preservation of Byzantine”. Color lithography, Marjorie Lee Miller, 1980, signed and numbered 11/40. https://www.metropol.se/press/bildbank/bildarkiv/detail.asp?ref=%7BDCF28DAB-B68E-4980-B5BD-A748C361DB96%7D
Some sources record this as “Committee for the Preservation od Byzantine”, but whether this is an OCD error, some Swedish language artifact, or a simple typo is anyone’s guess.
“Peaceful Kingdom”
This 1970 woodcut is signed, dated, and numbered. It was offered for sale on Aug. 28, 2021 at Madison, VA, USA, but went unsold. It was offered for sale by Hilliard & Co, an auction house in Madison, Virginia, in 2021, but it is not clear whether it sold at that time, or how many times it was offered for sale.
“Marjorie Lee Miller “Peaceful Kingdom” woodcut, titled, numbered 8/25, dated 1970 and signed in pencil. Matted and framed. Visible image: approx. 13 1/4″ x 11″.Frame: approx. 19 1/2″ x 17″.” https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lots/Marjorie-Lee-Miller-Peaceful-Kingdom-Woodcut/103-marjorie_lee-28.8.21-hilliard
Could this be a riff on Edward Hicks’ “Peaceable Kingdom” series?
Who is Marjorie Lee Miller?
Two of the three prints emerged on the East Coast, and the third in Sweden, so I am going to say she is American.
Is she the same Marjorie Lee Miller who did the cover art for Bo Carter’s “Twist It Babe”, remastered and rereleased by Yazoo in 1973? Who can say. “Notes by Stephan Calt and John Miller”…some relation or just a coincidence? It’s not signed but it’s in the right time frame. I don’t think it’s her, though, the figures are too stiff, for one thing. For another thing, the recording label was based in New York City.
Is she the same Marjorie Lee Miller who exhibited at Tompkins Center Gallery at Cedar Crest College (Pennsylvania) from September 16-October 5 in 1984? More likely.
The Cedar Crest College exhibit at Tompkins Center Gallery, Allentown was “Paintings by Marjorie Lee Miller,” Sept. 16-Oct. 5 (1984). https://www.mcall.com/1984/09/14/visual-arts-displays-at-area-museums-begin-not-with-a-whimper-but-with-a-bang/
It got a sympathetic review by a local journalist who described it in detail, but there don’t seem to be any photos of the event. This Marjorie Lee Miller drew in gouache, lithograph, and oils, mainly of the female figure in architectural settings. Subjects for the art works included a local fair, Allentown, Florida, Egypt, and the 1940s. https://www.mcall.com/1984/10/02/a-semi-realistic-show-of-the-female-figure-gallery-review/
Pennsylvania obit
This is probably her:
“Marjorie L. Miller, 58, of Township Road, Quakertown, died Aug. 12 in her home. She was the wife of Alan T. Miller. A graduate of Philadelphia College of Art, she was a painter.” https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/mcall/name/marjorie-miller-obituary?pid=1316549
Also she had family in Sarasota Florida, which fits with the Florida drawings mentioned in the art show review. Published by Morning Call on Aug. 14, 2003, the same paper that covered the art exhibit. The Pennsylvania location and the local newspaper certainly link the Marjorie L. Miller obit with the Marjorie Lee Miller art show. The link between the art show and our mystery Marjorie Lee Miller of the three signed prints would be the architectural and female figure topics, as well as the lithograph medium.
So, Marjorie L. Miller (1945 – Aug 12, 2003). This would put her at age 39 at the time of the 1984 art show. This art show is also in the time frame of the dates of the three known works of Marjorie Lee Miller, from 1970 to 1981. This would also make her 25 at the time of the first known print in 1070, which would be compatible with being newly married (same name as husband) and just starting a career.
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Well, well what do we have here. The “Marjorie L. Miller” of the Quakertown PA obit is now identified as “Marjorie Lee Miller”. Same date of birth, same street. This is the same person as our Cedar Crest College PA exhibit artist, 99.99%.
Another. The husband, Alan T. Miller is Alan Todd Miller.
Antiques consulting, permanently closed.
Gender Desk 