Marilyn At Niagara

The Photographer

Jock Carroll (1919 – 1995) was a Canadian writer, journalist, editor, correspondent and photographer.

He served as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air force, and really cut his journalistic teeth as a war correspondent.

In a career spanning almost fifty years he published several acclaimed books, including “The Death of the Toronto Telegram” and “The Shy Photographer”, but in 1952 he was
commissioned by Canadian magazine “Weekend” to produce a profile of Marilyn Monroe on the set of her first dramatic role, “Niagara”. It involved him spending a couple of days accompanying her around the set, photographing her as he went. It was an enviable, if potentially challenging, assignment but the two hit it off: Carroll struck by her youth and beauty, and Monroe intrigued by his tales from Korea and the news desk. What resulted were some amazingly candid and natural images, some of which were used in the Weekend piece and many others were seen for the first time in the posthumously published book “Falling for Marilyn: The Lost Niagara Collection”. In 2006 almost the entire body of his work (some 21,000 photographs, personal files, manuscripts and other materials) was donated by his family to Library and Archives Canada, as an important record of Canadian history, but a small number of his negatives were sold and the copyright in them assigned to the new owners. It is some of these images, showing the 26 year old Marilyn that make up our exclusive Marilyn at Niagara Collection and that we are able to offer for sale as very low-run limited edition photographs. They have never previously been for sale in any format.

The Exclusive Collection

Jock Carroll was a Canadian former fighter pilot and war correspondent.

Marilyn Monroe was a young actress on the verge of Hollywood superstardom and shooting her first major dramatic role in “Niagara”, a dark thriller set around, and shot at, locations near to the Falls.

Jock was given an assignment by the Canadian Weekend Magazine to spend a couple of days on set with Marilyn, photographing her as he went. The two hit it off: Carroll was struck by her beauty and vitality, Monroe was intrigued by his tales from the war desk and Korea.

The result was a fascinating collection of shots, some posed, some candid, but all capturing the essence of what Marilyn was at the time. They contain lots of beauty and glamour, but also show a more natural side of her, letting her personality and fun loving side, which was such a big part of her appeal, shine through.

We are delighted to own the original negatives and the copyright in some of the best of these images. They have never before been available for sale commercially, and we are now offering a selection of them exclusively in very Limited Editions as our Marilyn at Niagara Collection. They are only available from us through this Website or by visiting our Gallery in London at 313 King’s Road, Chelsea.