$38,400
A three-panel sterling silver custom-made Cartier frame, gifted to Marilyn Monroe by Nedda and Joshua Logan. The center frame houses a black and white silver gelatin print of the portrait Cecil Beaton took of Monroe in 1956. This image is purported to be Monroe’s favorite image of herself. The portrait is mounted to board and signed on matte by Beaton. The center frame is engraved at the top “For Marilyn Monroe Miller” and at the bottom “Love Nedda and Joshua Logan.” Joshua Logan directed Monroe in her 1956 film Bus Stop . The left and right frames house a handwritten letter from Cecil Beaton describing Monroe. It reads in part, “But the real marvel is the paradox – somehow we know that this extraordinary performance is pure charade, a little girl’s caricature of Mae West. The puzzling truth is that Miss Monroe is a make-believe siren, unsophisticated as a Rhine maiden, innocent as a sleepwalker. She is an urchin pretending to be grown-up, having the time of her life in mother’s moth-eaten finery, tottering about in high-heeled shoes and sipping gingerale as though it were a champagne cocktail. There is an otherworldly, a winsome naiveté about the child’s eyes…” The portrait can be seen in images of Monroe’s living room, where it was housed from 1956 until the actress’ death in 1962. PROVENANCE Lot 22 "The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe," Christie's, New York, Sale number 9216, October 27 & 28, 1999 Categories: Marilyn Monroe
Auctioneer:
Juliens Auctions
Date:
2012-11-09
