PARIS, FRANCE.- Musée Maillol presents Marilyn, La Dernière séance, on view through November 6, 2006. In 1962, Bert Stern was an established photographer renowned for the quality of his portraits, a hunter of icons whose lens gobbled up star after star. On the flight back from Rome where had just photographed Liz Taylor on the set of Cleopatra, he mused on his dream of doing a session with Marilyn Monroe.

And that is exactly what he suggested to Vogue as soon as he was back in New York. The editors loved the idea. Things moved quickly. Marilyn agreed to pose. Bert Stern’s dream was going to come true.

Rather than work in the studio, he decided to take a suite in the Bel-Air Hotel in Los Angeles. The lighting was minimal. He waited, his anxiety mounting. Would she come?

Marilyn’s moods and whims were notorious. The star had become capricious. She did come, alone. Only five hours later. The session could begin.

Marilyn agreed to pose nude, with no makeup on her body. A powerful, almost amorous rapport developed between the model and her photographer. He clicked away at her for twelve hours non-stop.

The results were remarkable, but too plain for Vogue. They suggested that Stern do another session, but this time Marilyn would wear makeup and some clothes. Marilyn agreed to pose again for Stern. The day before Vogue published the results, she died.

The Last Sitting comprises 2 571 photos. Bert Stern selected only a small number of these for exhibition. His selection was different for each new show.

In 1982, Stern chose 59 photos for an American museum. These photos were later auctioned by Sotheby’s and became the property of Leon Constantiner, a collector in New York. This remarkable selection undoubtedly constitutes the most interesting vision of his work formulated by this artist.