AMSTERDAM.- Two legendary photographers and one subject: Marilyn Monroe. The American actress and singer became an icon as sex symbol in the fifties. And she is still immensely popular.
Eduard Planting Gallery in Amsterdam presents from January 9 until March 5, 2016 an exhibition of unique photographs by Milton Greene and Douglas Kirkland.
The New York-born Milton Greene (1922-1985) belonged to the international top of fashion and celebrity photographers for many years. Greene began taking pictures at the early age of 14. Already at the age of 23 he was referred to as 'Color Photography's Wonder Boy'. His pictures were published in magazines such as Life, Look, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and Town & Country.
Greene's most noted work is with Marilyn Monroe. They first met in 1953 on assignment for Look Magazine. In 1956 they formed Marilyn Monroe Productions together, which produced 'Bus Stop' and 'The Prince and the Showgirl'. By the end of their 4 year relationship, he had photographed her in 52 different sittings producing over 5,000 images, some of which have never been published. Greene's photograph for one such sitting in 1954 featuring Monroe in a ballet tutu was chosen by Time Life as one of the three most popular images of the 20th century.
Douglas Kirkland (Toronto, 1934) has been at the cutting edge of fashion, photojournalism and portraiture, working for the worlds most reputable magazines, for more than 50 years. As a young photographer in 1961 he was assigned to shoot Marilyn Monroe and during several hours in a closed studio one night, captured a stunning portfolio of alluring and intimate images that survive to this day as a testament to her beauty and vulnerability. Eduard Planting Gallery presents a selection of this famous, intimate series 'An Evening with Marilyn Monroe'.
Kirkland worked for Look Magazine in the sixties and seventies and also for Life Magazine. He was on the set of more than 100 films. Coco Chanel, Marlene Dietrich, Charlie Chaplin, Andy Warhol and Angelina Jolie were in front of his camera. His work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian, the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Houston Center for Photography and the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles. He is the recipient of Lifetime Achievement Awards from numerous bodies including the highly valued Lucie Award for Outstanding Achievement.