Getty Images Gallery presents Marilyn

Do you have a screen icon?


I have been a fan of Marilyn Monroe since I was a teenager and I have my brother to thank for this.  As teenage boys do, he had a poster of Marilyn on his bedroom wall, but I can't exactly tell you when I started to become aware of her.  The more I learnt about her, the more I was fascinated by her.  I've watched her movies and have brought numerous books on her, been given memorabilia with her on, as I write this I am sitting drinking coffee out of a mug with a classic Marilyn photo on it.  To me she is the ultimate screen icon.  I am sure this has much to do with her story growing up in orphanages and the troubled life she led as a star, which was to become her downfall.  She became a star in the glamorous fifties and early sixties and having a perfect hour glass figure, stood out against the other starlets of the day.  So when I heard that there was an exhibition of Marilyn images and memorabilia, at the Getty Images Gallery in London, I had to make a visit.  I took the opportunity last week after we had taken afternoon tea at The Ritz.

Many years ago I had been to a Christie's pre-auction preview of Marilyn memorabilia.  I was excited to see things that she wore or used, some might think this is strange, but I think about what it must have been like to be her and what her life was really like.  So I was keen to see what this newest exhibition would hold.  We found the Gallery very easily, it is not far from Top Shop on Oxford Street, on the corner of Eastcastle Street.  I was slightly disappointed in the size of the Gallery, I had imagined something a lot larger.  To the left of the room was a small selection of dresses that Marilyn wore either in her movies or to functions.  The rest of the space showcased Getty images of Marilyn at work and play.

 

 

Whilst underwhelmed by the size of the Gallery and the number of actual Marilyn memorabilia, the highlight for me was seeing her red Gentlemen Prefer Blondes red sequinned dress.

There is something about Marilyn and the circumstances that surround her death, that to this day endures her to new audiences - I am not alone in my love for Marilyn, SBA is also a fan. Her popularity runs through the generations and I am sure will continue to do so.

The ultimate screen icon........has to be Marilyn Monroe!


Lula Belle x