Marilyn Monroe, 1953
Exhibition print from Witness to our Time (1966–1967)
13 × 9 ½ inches
Flush mounted to aluminum display box
Jun 1, 2026
One hundred years ago today, an unwed Hollywood film industry worker gave birth to Norma Jeane Mortenson, and a star was born.
Alfred Eisenstaedt took this photo in 1953, on assignment for LIFE MAgazine when Norma Jeane had far surpassed her humble beginnings and was in full flower as Marilyn Monroe. At the time, Monroe was one of Hollywood's most marketable film stars, and a favorite subject of tabloids and magazines.
This exhibition print was made for Eisenstaedt's Witness to Our Time show, in the marble-clad lobby of the TIME LIFE Building in Manhattan. The exhibition was staged four years after Monroe's death, when her legacy as a beautiful but troubled national symbol was fully secured, allowing her to grace the walls alongside icons of the 20th-century like Albert Einstein.
