Coinciding with the centenary of the birth of Marilyn Monroe, The Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Madrid, will present an exhibition in its 27 Club from 27 October to 18 January 2027, in which exceptional images of the American model and actress have been recovered through the lens of the American photographer, Allan Grant.
Curated by Cristina Carrillo de Albornoz Fisac, an independent art curator, critic and writer with an acclaimed international career, the exhibition recovers 15 photographs restored from the archives of Chris Flannery and Jason Greene, which form part of the session for the LIFE magazine interview by Richard Meryman, published two days before the death of the actress, and which can now be seen in Madrid for the first time. The images are accompanied by an original recording that has been unpublished for decades, enabling visitors to listen to Marilyn’s voice during the conversation.
The exhibition focuses on two major moments of her career. On one hand, between 1953 and 1957, through the 50 sessions in which Milton H. Greene photographed Marilyn, capturing her more personal side. They include two images in the area leading to La Cúpula: “A Ballerina” and “The Hooker Sitting”.
From more than 400 photographs taken during the session, only 15 images will be on display, having been lost for over 60 years and now recovered and restored. The exhibition is rounded off with the original issue of LIFE, the screening of an unpublished and recently restored recording of Marilyn Monroe’s last interview, which enables her voice to be heard during her conversation with Richard Meryman, and a silkscreen inspired by James Francis Gill’s famous triptych.
During the interview, the actress addressed some of the topics that had marked her life: her childhood, her relationship with Hollywood, her way of understanding acting, fame, happiness and the contradictions arising from having become one of the great symbols of her time.
Image Credits:
- © Milton Greene Archives Joshua Greene 2020
- © Marilyn Monroe, Ballerina, NY, 1954 Milton H Greene Archives
- © 1962 MM LLC (Allan Grant Photographs)
