Christian William Miller

Christian William Miller (born William Henry Miller; August 7, 1921 – July 5, 1995) was an American artist and model who contemporaries qualified as "one of the most beautiful men" in the gay social scene of New York City in the 1940s.

Early life and education William Henry Miller (in 1951 legally changed to Christian William Miller) was born in South Orange, New Jersey, on August 7, 1921. Also in 1949, Miller was awarded a Fulbright scholarship; an American scholarship program of competitive, merit-based grants. The scholarship lasted till 1951. He designed fabrics, wallpaper, stage sets for summer theatres as well as freelance advertising and arranging window displays.

All these objects were exhibited at MoMA from May 24 to October 22, 1944, for its 15th-anniversary show, "Art in Progress". The chair was again exhibited at the MoMa from May 6, 2009, to January 10, 2011, in the show "What Was Good Design? MoMA's Message 1944–56".

At one time, Miller was in a relationship with Otis Bigelow. Before meeting Miller, Bigelow was in a relationship with a businessman, George Gallowhur, president of Skol Company; Bigelow left Gallowhur but he had to go back to college, at the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program at Hamilton: while Bigelow was there, Miller started a relationship with Gallowhur. In 1945 Miller and Platt Lynes, at the time lovers, went together to a masquerade ball hosted in Weston by Alice DeLamar; their costumes resemble the Commedia dell'Arte and Platt Lynes subsequently took a series of photographs of the two of them dressed in those costumes. The portrait was purchased from a San Diego art dealer in April 2017 and is part of a private collection located in southeastern Pennsylvania.

At the end of the 1940s, Christian William Miller, together with Charles "Chuck" Howard (another model who would later become a fashion designer), participated in the "on the field" research of Alfred Kinsey. They went to Bloomington and performed together for Kinsey. Miller's purpose was to "achieve greater social tolerance of homosexuality" (Wilf). Later Miller had a brief relationship with Kinsey.

In 1952 Miller appeared in a photo shoot for Life.

Personal life and death With the savings from his military career, Bill Miller bought a house in Reading, Vermont, that he restored and redecorated. Later in life he owned a cottage at Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Miller died on July 5, 1995.