The magic of Marilyn, 100 years on …
It would have been Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday this month. Few have had the enduring appeal of the woman born Norma Jeane Baker in 1926, who became one of the most photographed people of all time. Her centenary is marked by new exhibitions and books that celebrate her lasting influence.
Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait, at London’s National Portrait Gallery until September 6, in association with the Marilyn Monroe estate, explores the life, career and legacy of Monroe through portraits created by some of the greatest photographers and artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. It brings together works by Andy Warhol, British painter Pauline Boty and artist Marlene Dumas alongside more than 20 era-defining photographers, including Cecil Beaton, Eve Arnold, Inge Morath, Milton Greene and Richard Avedon. It also features personal belongings such as books, scripts and clothes.
Marilyn Monroe, Mount Sinai, Long Island, 1955, by Eve Arnold. © Eve Arnold Estate.
Images range from Monroe’s earliest pin-up pictures as a young model to the poignant final photographs taken by George Barris on the beach in Santa Monica just three weeks before she died in August 1962, aged just 36. It’s a chance to feast your eyes on work by the foremost artists of the day and learn how they were inspired by Monroe, including Richard Hamilton, Boty and Warhol, whose iconic “Marilyn” portraits are among the most valuable in the world: in May 2022, one smashed records, selling for $195m in less than four minutes of bidding.
The exhibition highlights Monroe’s collaborative approach to image-making and the way in which she controlled her own image. Among the most memorable images are those by American photojournalist Eve Arnold. Monroe and Arnold met in 1952, and developed a close relationship; Monroe admired Arnold’s documentary-style photos, in contrast to the staged glamour pictures of the time. Arnold became her most trusted collaborator, and captured a side of Monroe that perhaps only another woman could see and reflect.
“A fascinating dimension of a woman who was so often reduced to a mere cipher.”
Arnold’s 1955 photo (above) sees Monroe lost in a book – Ulysses, no less. But this was not a manufactured PR stunt, according to the photographer. Monroe was apparently an avid reader and “had at least 200 books on her shelves ranging from James Joyce’s Ulysses to Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man”. Arnold wanted to show that Marilyn was very well-read and astute – a fascinating dimension of a woman who was so often reduced to a mere cipher.
A publication to accompany the exhibition features contributions from Lena Dunham among others, reflecting on Monroe’s influence and legacy. If you happen to be in Milan, Beyond the Icon – Marilyn Monroe, A Centennial Tribute by Guess runs until June 24 at Mudec museum of culture. It’s a free photographic exhibition exploring her life through images by Milton H Greene, Sam Shaw and Bruno Bernard.
THE LOOK
Marilyn Monroe’s look has inspired beauty for decades. Red lipstick, alabaster skin, blonde hair, a strong brow and a beauty spot is the essence of her screen-star look. Most famously, she delivered the ultimate enduring marketing line for Chanel in 1960, when she stated that she wore “just a few drops of Chanel N°5” to bed. I remember a fabulous Marilyn-inspired MAC collection in October 2012, which featured one of their best-ever red lipsticks, Scarlet Ibis. For a current alternative, try the classic Ruby Woo, a blue-red, or Dangerous, a warmer orange-red (€22.10 at www.dublinandcorkdutyfree.ie).
TO READ & COLLECT
There are so many books about Monroe, but recent additions include James Patterson’s The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe, with the slightly lurid subtitle, “a true crime thriller”; and The Marilyn Monroe Century: From Norma Jeane to Icon – A Story in Photographs (Abrams Books), a collectable tribute featuring rare photographs. More intriguing is Marilyn: The Lost Photographs, The Last Interview (Weldon Owen) by Richard Meryman, who interviewed her over the course of eight hours, weeks before she died; pictures are by photojournalist Allan Grant, many of which have not been published before. And we’re particularly drawn to When We Were Brilliant by Lynn Cullen, a novel examining her relationship with Eve Arnold, endorsed by Arnold’s grandson Michael, who runs her estate with great integrity. See www.evearnold.com for posters of Arnold’s iconic images, as well as rare limited-edition prints.
SEE MORE: Eve Arnold’s Grandson On Marilyn Monroe
