In the spring of 1945, a group of press photographers visited the Radioplane factory in Burbank, California, to document the contributions of women to the war effort. Operated by British actor and aviation enthusiast Reginald Denny, the factory manufactured pilotless drones used for military target practice. Among the workers was Norma Jeane Dougherty, who worked on Assembly Line #5 attaching propellers to the drones. Photographer David Conover captured images of Dougherty that highlighted a striking combination of fragility and vibrancy in her appearance. Within a few years, she would become globally famous as Marilyn Monroe.
Photography played a pivotal role in transforming Monroe from an ordinary factory worker into an iconic figure in popular culture. This transformation is now the focus of a new exhibition at the New-York Historical Society, which explores how images and mass-circulation magazines amplified Monroe’s public persona. The exhibit, titled “Marilyn Monroe Centennial: Photographs by Lawrence Schiller,” marks 100 years since Monroe’s birth and features 36 photographs by Schiller along with all seven covers of Life magazine featuring Monroe during and shortly after her lifetime.
Lawrence Schiller, a Brooklyn-born photographer, first met Monroe in 1960 when she was in her mid-30s and already an experienced professional in managing her image. Schiller recalled in an interview that Monroe had a sophisticated understanding of photography and the power of her own image, often guiding him on how best to capture her in front of the camera. The exhibit includes images from their sessions, including some taken during the filming of her final, unfinished movie, “Something’s Got to Give,” notably a set of swimming pool photos handwritten with Monroe’s own edits.
Schiller, now nearly 90 years old and based in Los Angeles, plans to attend the exhibition opening on November 20. The show contextualizes his images alongside vintage magazine covers from Life, Look, and other periodicals that featured Monroe’s image to boost circulation. Curators Isabelle Held and Kerben Ben-Horin have also assembled related memorabilia, such as a program from the May 1962 all-star birthday event for President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden, where Monroe famously performed “Happy Birthday, Mr. President.”
Schiller was among the last people to see Monroe alive. On August 4, 1962, he visited her Santa Monica home to discuss a possible appearance on the cover of Playboy, but she appeared disinterested. Two days later, Monroe was found dead from an overdose of barbiturates. A haunting photograph by Schiller was used on the August 17 Life cover, titled “Memories of Marilyn,” underscoring the lasting impact of her image nearly six decades after her death.
The exhibition highlights how Monroe’s carefully crafted public image, shaped by her own awareness and the skill of photographers like Schiller, has endured in the cultural imagination, preserved and amplified through the medium of photography.