This June, the National Portrait Gallery in London will unveil a landmark exhibition of portraits chronicling the life and work of Marilyn Monroe in celebration of her 100th birthday. The show will bring together works by artists including Andy Warhol, Pauline Boty, and Marlene Dumas, as well as portraits from more than twenty titans of twentieth-century photography such as Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon, and Eve Arnold. Monroe's personal effects, including books, scripts, and clothing, will also be on view as part of “Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait,” which opens on June 4 and runs through September 6.
Monroe, an American actress and model, was one of the most photographed people of her time, appearing on a vast number of magazine covers and in newspapers and advertisements. She began as a pinup model, going by her given name, Norma Jeane, and became the preeminent portrait subject of her era and a defining figure of pop culture. Her most notable film performances include Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Seven Year Itch, and Some Like It Hot.
The Portrait Gallery show will also feature previously unseen images that were taken for—but not included in—her iconic 1962 Life magazine feature, which was published just one day before her death. The images were captured by Allan Grant at Monroe's home in Brentwood, California. Her shocking death at the age of thirty-six inspired a number of artworks across Europe and the United States by artists including Joseph Cornell, James Francis Gill, and Rosalyn Drexler, a selection of which are included in the show. A publication bearing the same name will also be released by the National Portrait Gallery and will feature contributions from Rosie Broadley, Lena Dunham, and Bonnie Greer, among others.
“Marilyn Monroe remains one of the most recognizable people in modern history: a shorthand for glamour, distilled from the films that she appeared in and the wealth of photographs of her, reinforced by the generations of artists she has inspired,” said the gallery's director, Victoria Siddall, in a press statement. “We are proud to be staging this exhibition celebrating Marilyn in her centenary year, exploring her extraordinary life and influence as well as her enduring legacy.”
The exhibition is curated by Rosie Broadley, the National Portrait Gallery's joint head of curatorial and senior curator of twentieth-century collections, and Georgia Atienza, assistant curator of photography.
