Marilyn Monroe: An Appreciation

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From there came the poster plan, which he hopes will help preserve her legacy and introduce his grandmother’s work to new generations. “The themes she photographed are ever-present, if not more so – racism, sexism, inequality … not to mention the humanity she brought to her work.” I loved hearing the story of how Eve got her first big break as a photographer when I was growing up. To me it was like magic that someone could even achieve this: At this time, she was a starlet and still relatively unknown,” Eve continued. “She had just appeared in a small part in ‘The Asphalt Jungle’.” That movie, directed by Huston, was released in 1950. (It may well be the case that Eve first met Marilyn shortly after, as they were introduced to each other by photographer Sam Shaw, Marilyn’s friend since 1951. However, the Dietrich story was published in 1952, by which time Marilyn was becoming a household name.) Eve didn’t usually enjoy press conferences. The hotel was “so jammed as to make it almost impossible to work.” But her unusual status as one of the few women in her profession had some advantages. “The newsmen were unfailingly courteous,” she explained. “Invariably a path would be made for me.”

Tim Troy "Arnold, Eve" in Robin Lenman (ed.) The Oxford Companion to the Photograph, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, pg. 47 Gerhard Bissell, Arnold, Eve, Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon ( Artists of the World), Suppl. I, Saur, Munich 2005, from pg. 458 (in German). These words evoke Marilyn’s mood when Eve Arnold arrived in Nevada. It was midway through the shoot, and Monroe had just returned from a week’s rest in a Los Angeles hospital, during which time filming had been halted. Striking similarities with the Vanessa Redgrave image … behind the scenes at a fashion show in Harlem, 1950. Photograph: Eve Arnold EstateEve Arnold in 1997. A self-professed workaholic, she held characteristically trenchant views on the minority – and at times marginalised – status of female photojournalists. Photograph: Jane Bown for the Observer In February 1956, Lois Smith – Marilyn’s New York publicist – invited Eve to a press conference at the Plaza Hotel. Marilyn was to announce her latest film project, ‘The Sleeping Prince’. Her co-star, Sir Laurence Olivier, and Sir Terence Rattigan, author of the original script, had flown in from London to meet her. I was never late for her again. And indeed my propensity for lateness was almost entirely cured by those well placed, caring words.

In 1952, Eve photographed Marlene Dietrich in the recording studio, recording the hits that had made her famous during the war. A few years later at a party in Hollywood, Eve was introduced to Marilyn Monroe, who was just starting out in her career. Monroe had seen Eve’s pictures of Dietrich and said to her “If you could do that with her, just imagine what you could do with me.” Eve became friends with Monroe and photographed her several times over a ten year period.Other images being released as posters reflect the diversity of Arnold’s career: a Mongolian girl at one with her horse; a training session for civil rights activists on how not to react to provocation during sit-ins; and a Cuban fisher joyously spending time with his family. Another round of interviews followed. Eve’s photographs of this eccentric junket are touching and funny. A demure, elegant Marilyn greeted each well-wisher, young and old, rich and poor, with unaffected warmth. In one striking photograph, currently on show at the group exhibition Hollywood at Berlin’s Museum of Photography, Monroe stands pensively – her solitary frame surrounded by the vast desert as she anxiously rehearses lines before a scene with Clark Gable. In a rare moment – in which Monroe is unaware of the camera – we see the real Norma Jean; battling with her demons and struggling to live up to expectations. Arnold died in London on January 4, 2012, aged 99, three months shy of her centenary. [13] Selected works [ edit ] Photographs [ edit ]

Arnold’s output is still largely an untapped mine, given she took around 250,000 photographs in her career. Only around 2,000-3,000 have been digitised.The publication of ‘Marilyn Monroe: An Appreciation’ in 1987 confirmed Eve Arnold’s status as one the star’s finest photographers. Her accompanying text shows personal insight into Marilyn’s exceptional, and sometimes overlooked skills as a model.