Millie
the Muse
Phil Cantor
Millie
Cantor was a wonderful combination of brilliance and practicality.
She
was a great supporter of the arts. In particular, she was a supporter of one
photographer specifically. She was my collaborator and muse.
On the slide show in the lobby, you’ve seen some of the photographs we
made together.
In
the early 1970s she allowed me to dress the whole family in black turtlenecks
and to sit for a 5 second long exposure to make a very dramatic, rock and roll
style family portrait, reminiscent of a Beatle’s album cover.
Then,
in our most memorable collaboration, we set up a card table deep in the
In
the 90s, while visiting
Two
and a half weeks ago, confined to a wheelchair, we rolled around IKEA (it was an
outing chosen for its Swedish meatballs), and she thoroughly enjoyed letting me
insert her and her wheelchair in amongst the gazillion tables, desks and shelves
we found in the store. She posed, with her beret stylishly tilted to one side,
in a long line of empty IKEA chairs, giving the camera a very haughty “what
are you staring at” look.
And, this is my fave. We met in the city, after Herb died, to visit a museum. Afterwards, we found a café and I made this portrait, She is, as always, simply and elegantly dressed. She is leaning slightly forward, engaging the camera (and the viewer) directly, frankly, warmly, and with an intelligent twinkle in her eyes.
