Yellow Roses

In late June 1962, just six weeks before Marilyn Monroe’s untimely death, Bert Stern took almost 2,600 photographs of the American star over three daily sessions at the Bel-Air Hotel in Los Angeles. Published in Vogue after the actress’s death, this photo shoot later became known as 'The Last Sitting.' Stern’s photographs carry a rare sensual and human vibrancy. Never before had the star allowed a photographer such intimate access, and Stern’s camera captures a revealing, naked portrait of Marilyn the person—a fragile, lonely, flawed woman who would die tragically a few weeks later. In front of the camera, Marilyn transformed into a chameleon, fully immersing herself into whatever role she was meant to play, be it a classic movie star dressed in a lavish fur coat, a pure, virginal character sheathed in an immaculate white veil or a true sex symbol wearing nothing but pearls or diamond necklaces, silk scarves or chiffon roses.