MANIFESTING MARILYN: THE MAKING OF AN ICON

In celebration of Marilyn Monroe’s centenary, Genesis House in New York presented Manifesting Marilyn: The Making of an Icon, an immersive exhibition offering a thoughtful and distinctly modern look at the woman behind one of the world’s most recognizable images.

Rather than focusing solely on Marilyn as a Hollywood star, the exhibition explored the intelligence, ambition and determination behind the icon. Visitors encountered Marilyn as a reader, a student of her craft, a businesswoman and a woman who continually worked to shape both her career and her own identity.

Rare personal artifacts from The Marilyn Monroe Collection helped bring that story to life. The exhibition included personal correspondence and other intimate pieces connected directly to Marilyn, offering visitors a tangible connection to her private life alongside the exhibition’s immersive digital and interpretive elements.

During the exhibition’s run, additional artifacts from the collection were added, including an envelope addressed to Marilyn, a check bearing her signature and two personal letters. Among them was an important letter from Marilyn to photographer and business partner Milton Greene, written as their professional relationship was coming to an end and referencing The Prince and the Showgirl.

The exhibition also explored Marilyn’s remarkable intellectual curiosity through an interpretation of her personal library and culminated in an immersive cinematic experience examining the creation of the public image that would become Marilyn Monroe.

The Marilyn Monroe Collection was honored to contribute to this unique centenary exhibition and to help share a more personal and multidimensional portrait of Marilyn with visitors in New York.

Below are photographs from Manifesting Marilyn: The Making of an Icon at Genesis House.