Bert Stern: Marilyn Monroe: The Complete Last Sitting

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August 5, 1962: Marilyn Monroe was found dead of an “apparent barbiturate overdose." I put that in quotes because there is plenty of controversy about how she died. Was it a suicide? Was it murder? What exactly happened? Bert Sternwas a New York-based photographer famous for his ‘Last Sitting’ photographs of Marilyn Monroe and his groundbreaking advertising photography. August 6, 1962: Vogue September issue was on press about to be printed when news broke of Monroe's death.

In 1959 Stern married the ballerina Allegra Kent, who was celebrated for creating roles for George Balanchine. They started a family and Stern set up a studio for his high-concept advertising and fashion shoots, but the work took its toll. He eventually became addicted to amphetamines and moved to Spain to recover in the 1970s. is at the time of his writing aware that for all intents and purposes, Marilyn committed suicide shortly after seeing the finished photos, of which she brutually vetoed more than half, and yet feels zero shame over the fact that even then he goes on to publish those photos (destructions marks and all) Stern’s trajectory was interrupted by the Korean War. In 1951 he was drafted into the U.S. Army. But Stern never made it to Korea: instead, at the recommendation of an old friend who was already stationed in Tokyo, Stern was diverted to Japan and assigned to the photo department. He learned to use a film camera and made motion pictures of news events for the army while taking stills for himself.Forget those other femmes. The Monroe shots are what Stern will be remembered for, especially the ones Monroe mutilated with a hairpin. Just days before her death, Stern mailed color transparencies out to L.A. as a courtesy for Monroe. The woman went ahead and scratched up the ones she didn't like. Or else X-ed them with red magic marker. "Years later a wonderful art director from Harrod's [magazine] thought those particular photos were fabulous," Stern remembers. "He asked if they could publish them." Monroe's estate protested. Stern was unmoved. "Just because she scratched them out, doesn't mean she is the ultimate purveyor of my work. I hadn't signed any deal that she could destroy pictures she didn't like. They are my pictures." The breezy spontaneity of Stern's photographs was reflected in his film Jazz on a Summer's Day, a documentary made at the 1958 Newport Jazz festival. In the opening sequence, rippling water is used as a visual parallel to the sound of Jimmy Giuffre's saxophone, Bob Brookmeyer's trombone and Jim Hall's guitar. This impressionistic approach distinguishes the documentary from conventional concert films. He took the quintessential pictures of Marilyn Monroe,” Laumeister says, “and that work can sometimes trump [everything else he’s done]. There are so many more photos, even of Marilyn, and the show is representative of his wider work and ideas.”

Kannamma came out in 2004 as transgender and soon began devoting her time to social activism, fighting for the rights of transgender people -- known in India as "hijras." But her current campaign -- which she is running on a very tight budget -- focuses on other issues too. For example, she hopes to develop the city's infrastructure and rid its systems of corruption. For Stern, taking photographs was like making love — an intense, emotional experience. “I fell in love with everybody I photographed,” he says today. Bert Stern was born on October 3 in Brooklyn, NY. He was a whopping age of 33 when he got this break-of-a-lifetime.Bert Stern’s daring attitude in creating a unique Vogue spread combined with his adoration for the actress produced fantastic images that served more so as poetic offerings to the concept of love and the power of a muse, leaving both photographer and viewer transfixed by Monroe’s unequivocal beauty. I was going to photograph Marilyn Monroe. All I had to do was figure out how to get what I wanted: pure Marilyn, nude. But I didn’t know how to approach her with that idea… Maybe the only way I was going to get it was through illusion: screens, veils. So, I went to Vogue and said, “Can you get me some scarves? Scarves you can see through – with geometrics. And jewelry.” Jewelry doesn’t need too many clothes, right?” As a new season of Mad Men premieres, it’s perfectly fitting that the original mad man, Bert Stern, is receiving the accolades that his remarkable life and career deserve.