Bert Stern conceived of his ultimate
photographic romance with a vivacious
woman on his flight to Rome in the
spring of 1962. He was at the
height of his success, eagerly sought after by art directors and fashion editors, and able to gain access to nearly any celebrity- so why not America’s leading sex symbol,
Marilyn Monroe.

Stern wanted more than a historically
iconic image of the movie star:
“ What I wanted from Marilyn Monroe was the nudes because I couldn’t
think of anything to put on her.”

In his book The Last Sitting,
Stern commented, “ I was preparing
for Marilyn’s arrival like a lover, and
yet I was here to take photographs.
Not to take her in my arms, but to
turn her into tones, and planes,
and shapes, and ultimately an image
for the printed page.”