Edited with text by Rosie Broadley. Text by Georgia Atienza, Lucy Bolton, Sean Burns, Sarah Churchwell, Lena Dunham, Bonnie Greer, Griselda Pollock.
Beyond the "blonde bombshell"—the many faces of Marilyn Monroe as immortalized through art and photography of the 20th century
One of the most famous and most photographed women of the 20th century—and one whose image was directly linked to her fame—Marilyn Monroe continues to fascinate generations. From her collaborations with photographers such as Eve Arnold and Cecil Beaton to bold reinterpretations of her by Pop artists including Pauline Boty and Andy Warhol and later explorations by Cindy Sherman and Marlene Dumas, Monroe's image has been continually reimagined, speaking to her lasting impact on visual culture and our understanding of beauty, fame and power. Far more than a Hollywood star, Monroe was a complex figure: ambitious, witty, charismatic, and deeply involved in the crafting of her public persona. Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait includes contributions from the actor, director and writer Lena Dunham, playwright and cultural commentator Bonnie Greer and feminist art historian Griselda Pollock, who offer fresh and personal perspectives on Monroe's cultural significance and enduring legacy. Born Norma Jeane Mortenson, Marilyn Monroe (1926–62) first captured Hollywood's attention in 1950 through small parts in All About Eve and The Asphalt Jungle. By 1953 she had become a bona fide movie star, with lead roles in Niagara, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire. She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for Billy Wilder's comedy classic Some Like It Hot.
Authorized by and in association with The Estate of Marilyn Monroe, LLC.
Marilyn Monroe, 1956, by Cecil Beaton.
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Featured photograph—made by Milton H. Greene in 1955—is from new release Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait, published to accompany the centennial exhibition on view now at National Portrait Gallery, London. Collecting 225 reproductions and essays by a host of contemporary writers, this book goes beyond the triumph and the tragedy to the “tilted fairytale” of the universal. “Marilyn has something for everyone,” Lena Dunham writes. “If you feel you are caged by male perceptions of your beauty, she is a cautionary tale. And yet if you feel your body is too big, too wild, or too different, she let the curves that spoke louder than she could show through clingy fabrics. If you feel you are not taken seriously by the powers that be, Marilyn is someone who never became the actress, poet or painter she was in her private time. And if you want to prove that a sex kitten can powerfully shift the culture, there she is, singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the president who happened to be her erstwhile lover. … She is everywhere. And despite being everywhere, with something for everyone, she had something just for me. Her story was a tilted fairytale I could wear like a locket, believing—as so many have believed—that the ways in which I saw her were different.” continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 9.5 x 11.5 in. / 256 pgs / 110 color / 115 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $55.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $77 ISBN: 9781855148406 PUBLISHER: National Portrait Gallery AVAILABLE: 6/16/2026 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA ONLY
Published by National Portrait Gallery. Edited with text by Rosie Broadley. Text by Georgia Atienza, Lucy Bolton, Sean Burns, Sarah Churchwell, Lena Dunham, Bonnie Greer, Griselda Pollock.
Beyond the "blonde bombshell"—the many faces of Marilyn Monroe as immortalized through art and photography of the 20th century
One of the most famous and most photographed women of the 20th century—and one whose image was directly linked to her fame—Marilyn Monroe continues to fascinate generations. From her collaborations with photographers such as Eve Arnold and Cecil Beaton to bold reinterpretations of her by Pop artists including Pauline Boty and Andy Warhol and later explorations by Cindy Sherman and Marlene Dumas, Monroe's image has been continually reimagined, speaking to her lasting impact on visual culture and our understanding of beauty, fame and power. Far more than a Hollywood star, Monroe was a complex figure: ambitious, witty, charismatic, and deeply involved in the crafting of her public persona. Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait includes contributions from the actor, director and writer Lena Dunham, playwright and cultural commentator Bonnie Greer and feminist art historian Griselda Pollock, who offer fresh and personal perspectives on Monroe's cultural significance and enduring legacy.
Born Norma Jeane Mortenson, Marilyn Monroe (1926–62) first captured Hollywood's attention in 1950 through small parts in All About Eve and The Asphalt Jungle. By 1953 she had become a bona fide movie star, with lead roles in Niagara, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire. She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for Billy Wilder's comedy classic Some Like It Hot.
Authorized by and in association with The Estate of Marilyn Monroe, LLC.
