Bert Stern
(American, 1929–2013)
Untitled, from the portfolio Marilyn Monroe: The Last Sitting
Object Details
Artist
Bert Stern
Date
2000
Medium
Color photograph Edition 26/50
Dimensions
Sheet: 30 × 30 inches (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Steve Rothberg
Object
Number
2004.089.002
This image, taken six weeks before Monroe’s death on August 5, 1962, provide a poignant depiction.(…)
This image, taken six weeks before Monroe’s death on August 5, 1962, provide a poignant depiction. Stern was a prolific commercial photographer and employed a similar aesthetic for these photographs, originally intended for Vogue. They strip away the “advertisement” of Monroe in order to present her more honestly than her characteristically glamorous image—so much so that some images were rejected by the subject herself, who crossed out frames on the contact sheets with her lipstick. Stern’s iconic Last Sitting regained notoriety in 2008 when the photographer re-created the series with actress Lindsay Lohan. New York magazine published the images, pointing to the cyclical nature of celebrity and the rebirth of icons with each generation. (“15 Minutes: Exposing Dimensions of Fame,” curated by undergraduate members of Cornell’s History of Art Major’s Society and presented at the Johnson Museum April 16 – July 24, 2016)
