Marilyn Monroe

There isn’t much that hasn’t already been said or written about every facet of Marilyn Monroe’s life and legacy.

Her screen career started with a number of uncredited appearances, of which the most memorable was the final Marx Brothers feature, “Love Happy” in 1949, when she had a brief scene with Groucho. Four years later, the film was re-released, with Marilyn’s image added prominently to the movie posters, along with the (slightly misleading) tagline of “The Picture That Discovered Marilyn Monroe”.

Her real breakthrough was in 1950’s “The Asphalt Jungle”, and she went on to feature in a number of notable, and increasingly large, roles in major films such as “All About Eve” with Bette Davis, and “Monkey Business” with Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers.

She was now a real star, and the transition from a player in supporting roles in generally light comedies to heavier roles came with 1953’s “Niagara”, a dark dramatic thriller set at and around Niagara Falls, in which she was paired with Joseph Cotten.

This may well have been the happiest time of her life. She was now a major star, dating all-American baseball hero, Joe DiMaggio, and embarking on her first major dramatic role. And it was whilst on location at Niagara Falls that the images in the Marilyn at Niagara Collection were taken, by Canadian photojournalist Jock Carroll. During an assignment that was originally planned to last for two days and ended up lasting for two weeks, Jock and Marilyn developed an easy rapport, and it’s clear from Carroll’s candid photography that he was capturing Monroe on film at probably her most relaxed and carefree.

From here on, she hit the heights in her screen career, with a long sequence of popular hits, including “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, “There’s No Business Like Show Business”, “The Seven Year Itch”, “Bus Stop”, “The Prince and the Showgirl”, the classic “Some Like it Hot”, and her final film, 1961’s “The Misfits”.

Her private life wasn’t so happy. Her death was at the tragically young age of 36. But in her dozen or so years in the public eye, she became (along with Chaplin and Elvis) one of the three truly iconic personalities to emerge from the 20th Century’s world of popular entertainment. And with Audrey Hepburn, one of the most collectable poster stars.

One of the world’s most photographed and photogenic women, she has left behind many wonderful images.

For Marilyn fans and collectors of rare photography, we are pleased to offer our collection of shots taken by Jock Carroll at Niagara Falls. We own the copyright in these gorgeous images and are publishing them as very Limited Editions on the highest quality archival materials. They have never before been available for sale, and are now presented exclusively from the Limited Edition Photography section of our Website and at our London Gallery in Chelsea. They are not being offered anywhere else or through any other Gallery.

For film fans and poster collectors, we always have a large selection of stunning Marilyn images on original movie posters and lobby cards in the Movie Art section on this Website.