Marilyn Monroe – The Last Sitting

This 12-hour photo shoot, and the following two sessions, yielded nothing short of magic. A series of 2,571 portraits revealed a Marilyn completely unreserved yet utterly glamorous in wispy scarves, pink silk, birdcage veils, and an iconic black velour gown by Christian Dior. Collectively called ‘The Last Sitting®’, these intimate portraits would be the public’s final glimpse into the life of the Hollywood icon, before her untimely death six weeks later.

Bert Stern’s widow, Shannah Laumeister Stern, has curated an exclusive exhibition of these precious images of Marilyn. They were on display in Hotel Bel-Air’s lobby in 2021, as part of the hotel’s 75th anniversary celebrations. Here Shannah reveals insights about the man behind the camera and the exceptional photos created that day.

One of Bert’s amazing talents was understanding the importance of location and choosing where to shoot his subjects. When he learnt that Marilyn had known and loved Hotel Bel-Air and even lived there, he thought it would make sense to photograph her at the hotel, as it would be somewhere she would feel at home.

The dimensions and feeling of the space were crucial to making this show. I wanted to reveal 17 different moods of Marilyn Monroe, encompassing all of her complexities that made her so dynamic. I asked myself, “How did Bert and Marilyn communicate together over those days at Hotel Bel-Air to result in these photos?” I wanted to convey motion, movement and life so you could feel her vivaciousness. I believe that when people see the exhibition they will truly experience Marilyn.

There was a very unusual aspect to the shoot that doesn’t occur with movie stars today, the fact that they got to be alone for much of the shoot. This gave the chance for a creative intimacy between them to flourish. Bert respected and revered Marilyn, which I’m sure she could feel and therefore was able to be herself. I don’t think Marilyn got many opportunities to just be herself, especially in what was supposed to be a fashion shoot.

There’s still a sense of mystery the surrounds Marilyn. She was a movie star for the world rather than herself. She was always giving. That selfless quality, along with the complexity of her blinding beauty, alluring sexuality, sweetness, vulnerability and innocence, made her America’s favourite starlet. Even though Marilyn was all these things, it’s the sense of mystery around her that has made her more popular over time.