Marilyn Monroe, the Pop Art Muse

Using a press image from Marilyn Monroe’s 1953 film Niagara—ironically, the star’s only film in which her character dies—Andy Warhol cast America’s beloved bombshell in perhaps her most lasting role: as his muse. Immediately following Monroe’s tragic suicide in ’62, a death- and celebrity-obsessed Warhol began to create silkscreens of her likeness—print after print, asserting the reproducibility of the fallen starlet and the oh-so-fleeting nature of Hollywood’s embrace.

Film still from Niagara via Wikimedia commons.

At right, watch the trailer from Niagara and explore more works by Warhol in our featured sale, Andy Warhol: Polaroids and Limited-Edition Prints.