NYAB Event - Douglas Kirkland "An Evening with Marilyn"

Douglas Kirkland "An Evening with Marilyn"

Westwood Gallery

This event has ended.

Westwood Gallery presents an exhibition of iconic photographs of Marilyn Monroe by legendary photographer Douglas Kirkland. The exhibition will showcase stunning photographs of Monroe as she posed for Kirkland lying on a bed enveloped only in white silk sheets. Photographed by Kirkland on November 17, 1961, she died a few months later in 1962; 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of Monroe's death. On view are images of Monroe never before shown to the public, as well as a series of aesthetically superior quality carbon prints, made exclusively for this exhibition. The exhibition also includes behind the scenes black and white photographs of Kirkland, taken during his photoshoot with Monroe in a California studio. One photograph shows Kirkland as he leans dramatically over an interior balcony to capture ethereal images of Monroe in the bed positioned below.

The photo shoot became an historic event, due to the intimate exchange between Kirkland and Monroe. At the time, Kirkland was a young 27 year old photojournalist for Look Magazine, who spent the evening alone with Monroe, a 35 year old sex symbol and film star. The photo session required three encounters with Monroe, who according to Kirkland was like meeting three different women. Prior to the shoot she was a sweet, naïve actress, during the photo session he encountered a seductress and the following day Monroe was a distressed, despondent woman.

In addition to the photographs of Monroe, the exhibition will include a premiere presentation of artistic nude photographs taken over several decades of Kirkland’s career. Black and white images of embracing and dancing bodies including two stunning nudes of Naomi Campbell depict the mystique and beauty of the nude form.

Douglas Kirkland started his career in 1957 as an apprentice to photographer Irving Penn. He was hired by Look Magazine in the golden age of photojournalism. His assignments in the 1960’s and 70’s were essays on Greece, Lebanon and Japan as well as fashion and celebrity work, photographing Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich among others. Over the decades, Kirkland has photographed legendary, well-known individuals and completed scores of projects and books. He has also worked with film directors on over 100 film sets, both in the U.S. and abroad. Some of his notable subjects include, Man Ray, Andy Warhol, Katherine Hepburn, Charlie Chaplin, Judy Garland, Orson Welles, John Wayne, Coco Chanel, Pierre Cardin, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Dr. Stephen Hawking, Mick Jagger, Sting, Morgan Freeman, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren, Catherine Deneuve, Michael Jackson and Diana Ross.

His photographs are currently touring museums in the US and abroad. An exhibition organized by Westwood Gallery NYC in collaboration with Chanel Inc is touring major cities in Asia. His solo exhibition, ‘My Life in Pictures’, at Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia was rated number three in attendance by Art Newspaper for all 2010 international museum exhibitions of photography.