Dear Marilyn

"... none have captured the enigma of Monroe quite as intimately as Shaw's camera." — The Daily Mail

"Monroe had many sides — and Sam lets us see them all." — The New York Post

"... Marilyn unguarded, radiant in her naturalness – a glimpse of the woman behind the myth." — Arts & Collections Magazine

"This book of photos and letters is a treasure for any fan of Marilyn Monroe, photography or stories of friendship. In Dear Marilyn, The Unseen Letters and Photographs, Sam Shaw is finally showing the world the Marilyn he knew while the world can now see the work of an artist Marilyn knew." — The Eye of Photography

"Dear Marilyn is an ode to friendship, stardom, and the actress’s enduring legacy, 63 years after her death." — Airmail

Dear Marilyn offers a fresh insight into the life of the most-famous woman Hollywood has ever created. Through the stunning photography of Monroe’s close friend and confidant, the photographer, journalist and filmmaker Sam Shaw, this book brings Marilyn Monroe to life in a spectacular celebration of the centenary of her birth.

In Shaw’s own voice, through his diary entries and intimate correspondences with Monroe, we learn of their close friendship and an insider-view that charts her rise to stardom, the challenges she faced and her quest to find artistic authenticity. For the first time, Shaw also tells the origin story of his iconic ‘blowing skirt’ series from The Seven Year Itch.

Stunning digitally remastered photographs from the original 1940s–1960s archival material include some of the most famous images ever taken of Monroe: from behind the scenes of The Seven Year Itch to candid images of her on the streets of New York City and in love at the beach in Amagansett. Including never-before-seen images, Shaw’s work favours improvisation and shows Marilyn Monroe at her most spontaneous and radiant.

“Marilyn was born out of time, still she became a superstar, a myth, and a legend.” — Sam Shaw

A native New Yorker, Sam Shaw (1912 to 1999) began his photography career in the 1940s with Collier’s magazine, photographing the everyday life of ordinary people. He travelled the USA creating reportages on such subjects as jazz musicians in New Orleans, farmers and coal miners in West Virginia, WWII, and the burlesque, before going on to work with film studios in New York, Los Angeles and Europe as a stills photographer.

As well as photographing Marilyn Monroe throughout her career, Shaw shot many other film industry personalities such as Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, and Alfred Hitchcock. His work was regularly published in Life, Look, Paris Match, Europeo, Harper’s Bazaar, among others.