Selected images of Marilyn are featured among 32 vintage prints from the collection of Carol C. Carlisle, former editor of Popular Photography magazine, on display at the Keith De Lellis Gallery in New York from today. The exhibition also features portraits of Anita Ekberg and Clint Eastwood, Albert Einstein and Ernest Hemingway, and street scenes by W. Eugene Smith.
Incidentally, the gallery is located at 41 East 57th Street, while Marilyn rented an apartment in the 444 East 57th Street building from 1956 until her death six years later. She was previously featured in the gallery’s LIFE retrospective in 2022.
This 1954 shot of Marilyn in Korea was captured by British-born Ted Russell. Son of an American correspondent, he served as unit photographer with the US Army’s 2nd Engineers in the Korean war, and is perhaps best-known for his photos of a young Bob Dylan. Russell’s work has been published in Stars and Stripes, LIFE, and more (see here.)
Two images from John Bryson on the set of Let’s Make Love (1960.) The first shows Marilyn with hairdresser Agnes Flanagan, and in the second, she strikes a pose for her ‘My Heart Belongs to Daddy’ number.
A lovely variant on the famous group shot for The Misfits, by Elliott Erwitt; and Marilyn relaxes with photographer Douglas Kirkland during their 1961 shoot for Look magazine.
Popular Photography was founded in 1937. Marilyn made an early (uncredited) appearance in the January 1948 issue, with a photo taken by Andre de Dienes three years earlier at Mount Hood, Oregon (the first time she saw snow.)
John Florea’s 1951 photo of Marilyn by the fireside (in a onesie) was featured in the magazine’s 15th anniversary issue, published in May 1952.
Cecil Beaton’s 1956 portrait of Marilyn (with stuffed bird) made the UK edition in July 1958, alongside Queen Elizabeth II.
And finally, the Erwitt photo seen in this exhibition appeared alongside images by Philippe Halsman in the January 1966 issue, as part of a retrospective for Marilyn. After 80 years in print, the magazine folded in 2017; its digital offshoot, PopPhoto, was relaunched in 2021.
The Marilyn Report 