Marilyn Entering the Closet, #5 from the portfolio: Marilyn

Artist Philippe Halsman (American, 1906-1979)

Date1952

DimensionsOverall: 14 x 10 7/8 in. (35.6 x 27.6 cm)
image: 33 x 18.1 cm (13 x 7 1/8 in.)
mat: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)

MediumGelatin-silver print

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LineGift of Marjorie Neikrug

Object number

1989.19E

Not on View

Label TextFrom the 1940s through the 1970s, Philippe Halsman was known for his piercing psychological portraits. He often turned his routine assignments into serious investigations of a person’s character. Many attribute this aspect of his creativity to the influence of Surrealism. Like the surrealists, “…Halsman found a way to suggest that another layer of meaning, dreamlike and real, lay just beneath the surface of everyday experience. Most used this insight to shock or disturb viewers. Halsman understood that the same strategy could provide great pleasure.” Mary Panzer, in Philippe Halsman: A RetrospectiveExhibition HistoryTMA, Jan 22 - June 8, 1999