Bert Stern, Marilyn Monroe, 1962
“Marilyn Monroe agreed to pose nude for Vogue, with no make-up on her body, as long as the session could take place in LA. Rather than work in a studio, Stern decided to take a suite (No. 261) at the Bel-Air Hotel, Monroe had not been photographed in the nude since the Tom Kelley calendar pix. “I waited for her like a lover, like a bridegroom before his wedding, pacing the floor checking the ice in the Dom Pérignon 1953 vintage champagne, spraying the suite with Chanel No. 5.” Monroe arrived with Vicky, her hairdresser, five hours late. For 12 hours Stern snapped away, draping Monroe with necklaces, veils and two large roses, supplied by Vogue. The results were remarkable but too daring for Vogue, who decided they didn’t want the nudes. Another session was quickly arranged, this time Monroe wore clothes and make-up. The day before Vogue published, Monroe was dead.”
The three-day session yielded 2,571 photos of which no more than 20 were published by Vogue.
The Crucifix, one of the photos that Monroe hated and put a red pen through in the form of a thick cross. After the shooting, Marilyn Monroe rejected herself some of the pictures, marking them with a red pen (not lipstick), directly on the film.
“She hated the scar on her midriff from a recent gall-bladder operation, I told her it was beautiful. She was at a time in her life when she needed to re-invent herself, I think that’s why she accepted to pose for me, she drank gallons of Dom Pérignon, got drunk and fell asleep.” (Bert Stern)
February 24th, 2007 at 7:43 am
A number of these were originally published (in the US, at least) 15 years ago in Stern’s book “Marilyn Monroe: The Last Sitting”. She not only took the red pen to them, she also scratched a number of the negatives with a hairpin (none of those are shown here)
August 15th, 2007 at 3:31 am
I would have loved to give Marilyn a sensual massage when she was still alive.