Portrait of Marilyn, #1 from the portfolio: Marilyn

Artist Philippe Halsman (American, 1906-1979)

Date1952

DimensionsOverall: 13 7/8 x 11 in. (35.2 x 28 cm)
image: 28.3 x 21.6 cm (11 1/8 x 8 1/2 in.)
mat: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)

MediumGelatin-silver print

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LineGift of Marjorie Neikrug

Object number

1989.19A

Not on View

Label TextPhilippe Halsman stated that he experienced his first “miracle” in 1921 as he developed his glass plate negatives in the bathroom sink. This act of creativity was the first of many that Halsman was to experience throughout his career as one of the preeminent portrait photographers of the mid to late 20th century. As a commercial photographer the artist made countless images for the pages of LOOK, Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, Esquire, and especially, LIFE. This image of Marilyn Monroe was done as a commission for LIFE in 1952. According to Mary Panzer, Curator of Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, “Halsman’s ability to combine glamour, sex, and wholesome energy in one portrait made him LIFE’s favorite photographer for sensual stars like Marilyn Monroe…”Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Framing Fame: 19th- & 20th-century Celebrity Photography, March 4–June 4, 2017.