Marilyn, August 1953:
The Lost LOOK Photos

Photographs by John Vachon, Text by Brian Wallis

In the summer of 1953, John Vachon, then a photographer for LOOK magazine, drew the assignment to cover three American films being shot on location in the Canadian Rockies. In one of those shoots, Vachon captured a Marilyn Monroe rarely seen in the thousands of carefully styled photographs issued by her studio and handlers. Here is the reigning movie star of the 1950s with her guard down, giving Vachon unusual access and repeated opportunity to capture her sexual charisma as the ultimate "girl next door." Unexplainably, only three of these magnificent pictures made their way into the magazine. The rest were filed away for nearly sixty years—until now. Facsimiles of Vachon's handwritten daily letters to his wife and insightful original essays on both Marilyn and the photographer make this book a treasure for Marilyn collectors as well as lovers of fine photography. Click to Read More