Rightly so, there are several events lined up in Hollywood to mark what would have been their beloved Marilyn’s 100th birthday, but that doesn’t mean we won’t have our own celebration on this side of the pond.
Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait is an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London, running from 4 June to 6 September, 2026. The show explores the life, career and legacy of the star through portraits by some of the greatest photographers and artists of the this century and the last.
Expect to see works by Andy Warhol, Pauline Boty, Marlene Dumas, James Gill, Rosalyn Drexler and Audrey Flack, plus more than 20 era-defining photographers, including Cecil Beaton, Philippe Halsman, Bernard of Hollywood, André de Dienes, Eve Arnold, Inge Morath, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Milton Greene, Sam Shaw, Richard Avedon and George Barris.
Even from the press preview images, I notice there are several photographs I’ve never seen before, and I consider myself pretty au fait with most, so this promises to be a very worthwhile ticket.
From the earliest ‘cheesecake’ pin-ups of the young Norma-Jeane, to the most poignant final photographs taken on the beach in Santa Monica in 1962 as the fully-formed Marilyn Monroe, she became was one of the most photographed people in the world.
Those of us who’ve grown up with her presence may feel we know her, such is our acquaintance with those images. But do we really? A huge part of her continuing appeal is the juxtaposition of the familiar with the unfathomable.
This exhibition provides the public with the opportunity to take one step closer to the woman behind the images as personal belongings such as books, scripts and clothes will also be on display.
Watch out for our forthcoming review next month.
£25–27 / £27.50–30 with donation
Free for Members
The National Portrait Gallery
St Martin’s Place
London
WC2H 0HE
