10.20.2010

Marilyn :: 1953 :: A Fresh New Look

The summer of 1953 was a busy summer for photographer John Vachon.
LOOK magazine sent him to Canada to cover three American films being shot
in the Canadian Rockies. One of those films, River of No Return,
featured a blond starlet by the name of Marilyn Monroe.
Only three of the photos done during this shoot were ever published.
The rest have remained unpublished until now.
Vachon's letters to his wife, Penny, reveal his impressions of this rare
experience . . . including the fact that he felt Marilyn's co star, Robert Mitchum,
was an "unmitigated jerk."
Due to an injured ankle which prevented her from filming, Vachon had access
to Marilyn over a period of several days. This extraordinary portfolio captures
revealing images . . . from her posing poolside to riding a ski lift with soon
to be husband Joe DiMaggio.



These images truly give Marilyn fans a rarely seen and endearing portrait.
Vachon approached this glamour girl from his background as a people
photographer - not the usual Hollywood angle.

Of the over 100 never before seen photos, I especially adore the one of
Marilyn with crutches & cast and the single stylish black heel.

Priceless.
____________________________________
Do check out this enchanting new book by Dover:
Marilyn, August 1953: The Lost LOOK Photos
Photographs by John Vachon, Text by Brian Wallis


You might also enjoy this link to
some Dover ecards which feature several
of these wonderful photos.

Or, for a closer look, just click on the direct Amazon link
in my feature column to the right.

______________________________
All photos copyright the estate of
John Vachon - Dover Publications

10 comments:

Dumbwit Tellher said...

Thank you very much for posting about these amazing photos. What a pleasure to see this happy side of Marilyn. I loved the photo with the bear.

Will definitely check out the Dover book. Cannot wait!

Cheers ~ Deb

David Toms said...

Judith, yes thankyou for sharing these with us!! I am definitely going to have to check out the book

Ingrid Mida said...

What a coincidence that you posted about Marilyn today! I just spent part of the day looking at photos of her that were taken by Stern 6 weeks before she died.
She looks so fresh and pretty in these photos in Canada.

Unknown said...
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Christine H. said...

These are amazing. Even in later years there was always something so warm and empathetic about Marilyn Monroe.

Anonymous said...

Just two words

l
o
v
e
l
y

&

t
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x

I will let you know SOON!

Love

Agneta

Yoli said...

She was magic, there was an innocense and sexuality about her that no one since her has been able to portray. I love these images, she seems like a real human being here having fun.

layers said...

She had one of those happy-sad-mixed up lives- with that mysterious aura about her--nice photo reminders.

.Trudi Sissons said...

Here's a small world story for you - my housekeeper's aunt who is 94 worked in the photo shop in Banff at the time developed the photos and made an extra set for herself!!! - so I've seen several!
She really was a classic beauty.

Anonymous said...

thanks judith & please take a look on my wabi & sabi blog!

agneta