Norma Jean Baker started her life as luckless L.A. girl and ended it as an American icon, thanks in no small part to an image of her standing on a Manhattan steam vent in a white dress. That image isn’t for sale, but more than 100 other rare photos of her are, as part of “Marilyn: Through The Lens,” an online auction that Julien’s is holding through March 26th.
Featuring photographs of Monroe taken by shutterbugs that include George Barris, Joseph Jasgur and Bruno Bernard, the collection is bolstered by more than 25 shots Douglas Kirkland snapped in November of 1961 during the “Nude In White Silk Sheet” photoshoot.
Kirkland said of the shoot: “At a certain point, Marilyn said, ‘I know what we should do. We should have a bed, and a white silk sheet.’ She insisted it must be silk, and it went from there.”
Obviously Kirkland obliged, and from the photos below — which are expected to fetch more than $90,000 total, with some selling individually for as much as $2,500 — it’s easy to see why.
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