Biography
Born in Canton, Ohio in 1922, Mary Alice Millen was the eldest of 2 girls. Her father was a surgeon, her mother a schoolteacher. In the late 30s, she went to Duke "to get out of Canton," where she studied English and History. Upon graduating, she moved to Cleveland and worked at Standard Oil. After a few years, she signed up for the Red Cross, and left for Manila, Philippines, where she served thousands of Allied soldiers. After the War, she moved to Cambridge, MA, and lived with her sister. She worked as a secretary for the class of '22 at Harvard. "If nothing else, Harvard was full of interesting people." This is where she met Richard Millen, a world renowned mediator and the roommate of her sister's date. They got married at Harvard Chapel in Jan 25, 1948.

Picking up a car in Knoxville, the couple headed out west to Los Angeles to stay with Mr. Millen's brother, and then pitched stakes in Burbank. The couple had two daughters and two sons in California. After Living in San Francisco for a short time, which they loved, they settled down in Sherman Oaks, where they still live today.

This exhibit is entitled Peregrine Photographs not after the falcon, but after the meaning of peregrine, "from abroad". These photos were taken between the 1960s and the 1990s, and represent a small sample of her multiple journeys to Africa, India, Nepal, Tibet, and Japan. "I got myself a good camera, because an elephant looks like a large stone out there, if you don't have a good camera. I didn't realize that some of them turned out quite well until I developed them at home." Her photos of humanity and nature rank with the best of National Geographic, but they weren't for the public. They were personal until this show. When a pehrspace volunteer saw these in her home, he coaxed her into showing these at the gallery.

Africa
Her strongest impressions of Africa were of "the animals. They have stunningly beautiful birds. No one ever talks about those birds. They're very hard to catch by camera."

India
What struck Ms. Millen about India was that "it was very colorful. India is strange. I think it's hard for westerners to do it. The food is such a trick. It's either inedible or it gets you sick. We saw people who were foolish enough to eat ice cream one day. I think they're still sick today. The thing that daunted me most was the people who had leprosy. I thought they should be in hospitals being treated. So many people there don't have a place to put their head down."

Japan
"I had been reading about Japan for years. I was dying to go. I loved every minute of it." The minutes she loved the most were spent in "the hot bath. When I say hot, you're sort of soft-boiled by the time you get out." Aside from the sensory realm, Ms. Millen remembers most the human warmth she felt in Japan. "They're very kind to you. If you can't find something they'll take you by the hand until you're not lost."