A new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, titled 'Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait', explores the life, career, and legacy of Marilyn Monroe through portraits created by many of the greatest photographers and artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. The show runs until 6 September and features iconic images from her early modeling days as Norma Jeane to her final interviews and photographs in 1962, including works by Milton H. Greene, Eve Arnold, Cecil Beaton, Pauline Boty, and Andy Warhol.
The exhibition matters because it reframes Monroe not just as a Hollywood star but as a muse and subject for fine art photography and visual culture, highlighting how artists and photographers shaped her enduring iconography. By presenting her image across decades and media, the show underscores Monroe's transformation from a pin-up model to a complex figure whose legacy continues to inspire artistic interpretation and critical reflection on fame, identity, and the male gaze.