Bert Stern (b.1929) picked up his first camera while growing up in Brooklyn. Over the course of his career he went on to photograph some of the greatest Hollywood celebrities, becoming a star in his own right.

Today Stern is best known for his iconic portraits of Marilyn Monroe, the final pictures taken of her merely weeks before she died. Marilyn Monroe remains one of the most recognizable figures of the twentieth century. She amplified and embodied what it meant to be a Hollywood starlet and sex symbol.

The 3 day photoshoot was commissioned by Vogue in the summer of 1962. Stern shot over 2,500 images that were later compiled into a photobook titled Marilyn Monroe: The Complete Last Sitting.

Stern boldly depicted Marilyn with unprecedented transparency. In this provocative yet playful shot, only a sheer scarf separates her nude figure and the camera lens.

This image shows Marilyn enveloped in a cloud of warm light and peach fabric that matches her radiant beauty and timeless allure. Her imminent death and naive gesture gives the image amplified significance and an eerie twist. This intimate portrait epitomizes Marilyn Monroe’s mix of stardom, scandal, mystery, and tragedy that positioned her as an irresistible muse to artists across the globe.

Stern built his reputation as a commercial fashion photographer working with legends such as Stanley Kubrick, Richard Avedon, and Irving Penn. His confident aesthetic shifted the climate of advertising, opening a new era that celebrated the power of visual communication and allowed images to speak for themselves.