The Hulton Archive - Marilyn Monroe - "Seven Year Itch" Limited Edition 16x23 Fine Art Giclee on Paper #/375 (PCV COA & PA LOA)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 1954: Marilyn Monroe with the skirt of her white dress blowing as she stands over a subway grate at the corner of 51st Street and Lexington Avenue in September, 1954 during the filming of 'The Seven Year Itch' in New York, New York. (Photo by Sam Shaw/Shaw Family Archives/Getty Images)

This Limited Edition Fine Art Giclee is printed on acid-free museum quality paper with a hand-torn deckled edge. It is hand-titled, hand-numbered and features an embossed seal of authenticity from the Hulton|Archive Collection. Edition size is limited to 375 pieces. Measures approximately 22” x 17” in size. ©Hulton|Archive of London

Sam Shaw (1912-1999), a lifelong New Yorker, was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Shaw is internationally recognized for his photographs of films and movie stars, though his interests and talents covered a wide array of subjects including music, theater, sculpture, painting, literature, journalism, as well as social and political activism. Shaw’s prolific six-decade career is remarkable in its breadth and diversity and remains a historical record of the twentieth century. In the early 1950s, Shaw began working in the film industry as a special still photographer. He captured countless stars of the cinema, including Woody Allen, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Alfred Hitchcock, John Wayne, Fred Astaire, Elizabeth Taylor, Ingrid Bergman, Sophia Loren, Charlie Chaplin, Audrey Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, and many more. His photographs appeared often on the cover of LIFE and Look magazines, as well as in Paris Match, L'Europeo, The Daily Mail, Der Stern, Harper's Bazaar, Connaissance des Arts, and others. Shaw preferred to shoot his subjects without set-ups, makeup, or decorations, encouraging them to be spontaneous and improvise— a style that set Shaw’s work apart from the stereotypical Hollywood “glamour” photographs of the day and foreshadowed his later role as an independent filmmaker.

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an American actress and model. Famous for playing comic "dumb blonde" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and was emblematic of the era's attitudes towards sexuality. Although she was a top-billed actress for only a decade, her films grossed $200 million by the time of her unexpected death in 1962.[1] She continues to be considered a major popular culture icon.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Monroe spent most of her childhood in foster homes and an orphanage and married at the age of sixteen. While working in a radio plane factory in 1944 as part of the war effort, she was introduced to a photographer from the First Motion Picture Unit and began a successful pin-up modeling career. The work led to short-lived film contracts with Twentieth Century-Fox (1946–1947) and Columbia Pictures (1948). After a series of minor film roles, she signed a new contract with Fox in 1951. Over the next two years, she became a popular actress with roles in several comedies, including As Young as You Feel and Monkey Business, and in the dramas Clash by Night and Don't Bother to Knock. Monroe faced a scandal when it was revealed that she had posed for nude photos before becoming a star, but rather than damaging her career, the story resulted in increased interest in her films.

By 1953, Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars, with leading roles in three films: the noir Niagara, which focused on her sex appeal, and the comedies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, which established her star image as a "dumb blonde". Although she played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career, she was disappointed at being typecast and underpaid by the studio. She was briefly suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project but returned to star in one of the biggest cinema successes of her career, The Seven Year Itch (1955).

When the studio was still reluctant to change her contract, Monroe founded a film production company in late 1954; she named it Marilyn Monroe Productions (MMP). She dedicated 1955 to building her company and began studying method acting at the Actors Studio. In late 1955, Fox awarded her a new contract, which gave her more control and a larger salary. After a critically acclaimed performance in Bus Stop (1956) and acting in the first independent production of MMP, The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for Some Like It Hot (1959). Her last completed film was the drama The Misfits (1961).

About Hulton|Archive of London

The Hulton|Archive was formed after two of the leading historical stock houses – The Hulton in London and Archive Photos in New York. The Hulton|Archive is one of the largest collections of photography and illustrative material in the world containing over 40 million images.

The archival collection contains historically and socially significant imagery that documents the human experience through the 19th and 20th centuries up to the present day. The collection features images of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Wizard of Oz and others.

The lot / autograph(s) includes a LOA and lifetime authenticity guarantee from Pristine Auction as well as an official Pop Culture Vault COA for authenticity purposes.

Authentication: Pristine Auction LOA & Pop Culture Vault COA

This is a stock item and stock images may be used in this listing. The exact item you will receive will be of equal quality to the one pictured.

For more information on stock images, please see our FAQ.

This item is being shipped from the Pristine Auction warehouse.