Marilyn Monroe – Richard Avedon
A 1957 image of what photographer Richard Avedon considered to be the “real” Marilyn Monroe sold for £77,500 at Sotheby’s Icons of Fashion Photography sale in London on May 19. Avedon, who aimed to reveal the true character of his subjects, recalled that whilst photographing Monroe at his studio she danced and sang and flirted and did this thing that made her Marilyn Monroe.
“And when the night was over and the white wine was over and the dancing was over she sat in the corner like a child with everything gone”. Monroe permitted him to take the photograph. He said he would not have taken it without her consent. The top lot of the sale was Mouth (For L’Oreal) New York by Irving Penn. It sold for £221,000.
The auction featured works by mid 20th century modern fashion photographers Irving Penn and Richard Avedon alongside images by Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin and Peter Lindberg as well as contemporary photographers like Miles Aldridge and David LaChapelle. Around 60% of lots found buyers in an auction that realized £1,422,375.