The American photographer Douglas Kirkland took his legendary photo series of Marilyn Monroe, November 17, 1961, in Los Angeles. He was a beginner, only 24 years old with a huge crush on Marilyn. His first major job was to photograph the cover of the magazine “Look” and Marilyn was the model. The result was a series of photos that are some of the most spontaneous and thrilling photographs taken by Marilyn. These would also prove to be one of the last sessions Marilyn did before she died the following year.

“I was a mess .. a mess. There I was, a kid in my mid-twenties, trying to make my mark, trying to imagine some way to approach the biggest star in the world in an entirely new way. It had to be eye-catching, but I wanted a more overt and honest depiction of her than perhaps she was accustomed of showing. Being Canadian in principle and Midwestern in culture, it was not easy to form the words ‘Marilyn … I want you undressed.”
Douglas Kirkland

For the photography to take place in a bed, she had some requirements; the sheets would be of silk, a bottle of Dom Perignon would be at the edge of the bed and Frank Sinatra would be played on the turntable.

Many years later, Kirkland has told that Marilyn, when left alone, asked him to crawl into bed with her and that he refused a “once-in-a-lifetime” chance by resisting this temptation.

The American photographer Douglas Kirkland took his legendary photo series of Marilyn Monroe, November 17, 1961, in Los Angeles. He was a beginner, only 24 years old with a huge crush on Marilyn. His first major job was to photograph the cover of the magazine “Look” and Marilyn was the model. The result was a series of photos that are some of the most spontaneous and thrilling photographs taken by Marilyn. These would also prove to be one of the last sessions Marilyn did before she died the following year.

“I was a mess .. a mess. There I was, a kid in my mid-twenties, trying to make my mark, trying to imagine some way to approach the biggest star in the world in an entirely new way. It had to be eye-catching, but I wanted a more overt and honest depiction of her than perhaps she was accustomed of showing. Being Canadian in principle and Midwestern in culture, it was not easy to form the words ‘Marilyn … I want you undressed.”
Douglas Kirkland

For the photography to take place in a bed, she had some requirements; the sheets would be of silk, a bottle of Dom Perignon would be at the edge of the bed and Frank Sinatra would be played on the turntable.

Many years later, Kirkland has told that Marilyn, when left alone, asked him to crawl into bed with her and that he refused a “once-in-a-lifetime” chance by resisting this temptation.

The American photographer Douglas Kirkland took his legendary photo series of Marilyn Monroe, November 17, 1961, in Los Angeles. He was a beginner, only 24 years old with a huge crush on Marilyn. His first major job was to photograph the cover of the magazine “Look” and Marilyn was the model. The result was a series of photos that are some of the most spontaneous and thrilling photographs taken by Marilyn. These would also prove to be one of the last sessions Marilyn did before she died the following year.

“I was a mess .. a mess. There I was, a kid in my mid-twenties, trying to make my mark, trying to imagine some way to approach the biggest star in the world in an entirely new way. It had to be eye-catching, but I wanted a more overt and honest depiction of her than perhaps she was accustomed of showing. Being Canadian in principle and Midwestern in culture, it was not easy to form the words ‘Marilyn … I want you undressed.”
Douglas Kirkland

For the photography to take place in a bed, she had some requirements; the sheets would be of silk, a bottle of Dom Perignon would be at the edge of the bed and Frank Sinatra would be played on the turntable.

Many years later, Kirkland has told that Marilyn, when left alone, asked him to crawl into bed with her and that he refused a “once-in-a-lifetime” chance by resisting this temptation.