Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait

Coinciding with the centenary of her birth, Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait is a National Portrait Gallery exhibition that will feature how her icon inspired art both during her lifetime and posthumously. The show will be organised into thematic sections that narrate Monroe’s biography, highlighting her agency in shaping her career and public image. The exhibition will feature photography, artworks and key ephemera, collectively forming a rich portrait of her extraordinary impact and spotlighting her enduring legacy as a subject for artists and photographers.

The exhibition will include approximately 150 works and requires 500 – 700 m2 in space. It will be available to tour from October 2026 and into 2027.

Marilyn Monroe (1926 – 1962) was a Hollywood star whose ‘bombshell’ appearance epitomised glamour and a specific feminine ideal that endures in Western popular culture. During her lifetime, her beauty and charisma were immortalised in images by some of the era’s greatest photographers, including Eve Arnold, Cecil Beaton and Richard Avedon—many of which feature in this exhibition. After her death, Monroe quickly became a compelling subject for international visual artists across various media; her ‘pin-up’ persona, now imbued with the triumphs and tragedies of her short life, took on new significance. Posthumous responses to Monroe range from deeply personal to overtly political, with her image serving as a lens through which to critique the cultural and political preoccupations of the 20th century, including our obsession with fame.