Henri Dauman: Manhattan Darkroom is a touring retrospective for French-born photographer Henri Dauman, who died in 2023 (see here.) Now on display at the Charles Nègre Museum of Photography in Nice until May 26, the exhibition features images of Marilyn at various public events in New York, including a March of Dimes fundraiser; a preview of Some Like it Hot; and the David di Donatello Awards, where she was honoured in 1959.
“America is a fascination, even better, an astonishment. The first images attest to the young man’s astonishment at the power and architectural elegance of the city … Henri Dauman would never stop portraying, fascinated, the only city that matters: New York … His female portraits (Jane Fonda, Brigitte Bardot, Jean Seberg, Marilyn Monroe) are imbued with a very particular tenderness. We feel alone with them … The priority with Henri Dauman is to tell stories. The man admits his debt to cinema … Henri Dauman’s photographic work provides a new look at America. At a key moment, that of the renewal of generations, when the United States renews its ideas, its forms and its models come together, it offers the contrasting face of doubt, struggle and hope.”
The Marilyn Report 