Original photograph of Marilyn Monroe and Cecil Beaton, circa 1956

London: Pictorial Press, Circa 1956. Vintage borderless reference photograph of photographer Cecil Beaton standing over Marilyn Monroe, arranging a long-stemmed rose next to her face. Printed labels of Pictorial Press affixed to the verso.

Beaton photographed Monroe at his suite at the Ambassador Hotel in New York in February 1956. The actress purportedly showed up nearly 90 minutes late, nevertheless impressing Beaton with her "lack of inhibition," as he would go on to note in a diary entry detailing the experience. Beaton closed the same entry with the cryptic, and ultimately prophetic, remark that "[Monroe's life] will probably end in tears."

8 x 10 inches. About Near Fine, with brief wear at the corners.

[Book #156327]