MARILYN is still going strong at Bendigo Art Gallery, with visitors coming to Bendigo from across Australia.
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The exhibition presents a wonderful opportunity to get closer to Marilyn Monroe the person and peel back the layers of her life as a Hollywood star.
Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortensen on June 1, 1926 to Gladys Baker. Soon after her birth, Norma Jeane’s surname was changed to Baker, although the identity of her father has never been confirmed.
Norma Jeane had a troubled and unstable childhood – her mother suffered from mental illness (schizophrenia) and the young Norma Jeane spent time in foster care, in an orphanage and some extended periods with her mother’s friend Grace Goddard.
Hollywood and the film industry were a large part of Norma Jeane’s formative years; her mother had been a film cutter for a Hollywood studio and from an early age Norma Jeane was taken to see some of the greats of early film at famous cinemas such as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.
The exhibition presents a wonderful opportunity to get closer to Marilyn Monroe the person.
- Tansy Curtin
A number of commentators have suggested that Norma Jeane modelled herself on an earlier platinum blonde, Jean Harlow (who sadly also died young).
In 1942, aged just 16, Norma Jeane married her next door neighbour, James (Jimmy) Dougherty, and settled down to life in the home. Not long after their marriage, Dougherty joined the merchant marine and Norma Jeane, frustrated with life at home, began work at a munitions factory.
It was here that she was discovered by army photographer David Conover, who was photographing the women back home to cheer up the servicemen abroad. That same year, 1945, Norma Jeane signed on with the Blue Book Modelling Agency.
The following year Marilyn signed her first contract with Twentieth Century Fox and later changed her name.
One of the highlights of the exhibition is undoubtedly the collection of early photographs of Norma Jeane – photographs from her childhood, her first marriage in 1942, as well as some of her earliest modelling photos.
Some of these photographs came from Marilyn’s personal photo album and have her annotations on the back – giving us rare insight into the images and personal possessions that had special meaning for her.
Bendigo Art Gallery and Twentieth Century Fox present Marilyn Monroe continues until July 10.
Tickets are selling fast so remember to book before your visit to ensure you don’t miss out.
