Today would have been Marilyn Monroe’s 89th birthday, and despite the fact that she died over half a century ago in 1962, the blonde bombshell remains as iconic as ever.
In celebration, on June 17, New York’s POP International Galleries will open “Happy Birthday Marilyn!,” an exhibition of photographs of the beloved starlet.
Curated by art dealer and specialist Andrew Weiss, the show will present Monroe in different phases of her short life, as captured by photographers William Carroll, Andres de Dienes, Lazlo Willinger, Milton Greene, Kashio Aoki, Bert Stern, and George Barris.
A picture of a pre-stardom Monroe (who was still known by her given name, Norma Jeane Mortenson) in a red jumper and overalls is barely recognizable, depicting her as a young hopeful rather than the overconfident sexpot we’re used to seeing. Other images are more iconic, like those from Stern’s series “The Last Sitting,” the steamy, boozy photo series that would sadly be her last.
“Each photographer’s work gives us a different perspective into Marilyn, sometimes covering the same time and place, sometimes the same place 17 years apart. In these pictures, through the contrast and the similarities, we can see bits of the real person she was, and start to understand how this young woman could rise to such heights,” reads a press release for the show.
Recently, a slew of Marilyn memorabilia has hit the auction block, including a rose pink silk dress worn in the film Something’s Got To Give (see Marilyn Monroe Dress Hits Auction Block), and love letters from Joe DiMaggio (see Joe DiMaggio’s Love and Loss Letters to Marilyn Monroe Go to Auction). In more bizarre news, a clone of J. Seward Johnson’s kitschy, 26-foot-tall sculpture of the star was recently discovered in a Chinese landfill (see Forever Marilyn Turns Up in a Chinese Landfill).
More more Marilyn, check out artnet’s online auction of iconic photographs.
Photo: Courtesy Andrew Weiss and Pop International Galleries.
Photo: Courtesy Andrew Weiss and Pop International Galleries.
Photo: Courtesy Andrew Weiss and Pop International Galleries.
Photo: Courtesy Andrew Weiss and Pop International Galleries.
“Happy Birthday Marilyn!” will be on display at POP International Galleries from June 17–July 1, 2015.