Marilyn Monroe, Mount Sinai, Long Island, 1952, by Eve Arnold, © Eve Arnold Estate.

In celebration of Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday and in association with the Marilyn Monroe estate, the National Portrait Gallery presents Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait. This major exhibition will celebrate the life and work of one of the most famous women of the 20th century through portraits. It will explore the role she played in her own image making, and her inspiration on photographers and artists in her lifetime and long after.

Born on 1 June 1926, Monroe remains a defining presence in popular culture. From the earliest pin-up photographs made when she was a young model named Norma Jeane, to her last interview for Life Magazine and the poignant final images taken on Santa Monica beach in 1962, she was one of the most photographed people in the world, and fascinated and inspired some of its greatest artists. The exhibition will bring together works by Pauline Boty, Rosalyn Drexler and Audrey Flack, alongside photographs by over 20 era-defining photographers including Eve Arnold and Inge Morath.

Photographers who worked with Monroe described her as the best subject they had ever had. The exhibition will foreground Monroe’s collaborative approach to image making and her creative agency; she not only performed, but also directed sessions and claimed the right to veto any images she did not like.

The exhibition is curated by Rosie Broadley, Joint Head of Curatorial and Senior Curator of 20th Century Collections, and Georgia Atienza, Assistant Curator of Photography.

To find out more please go to the direct link.