Rare photos of Marilyn Monroe on display - 17/08/2010

Rare images of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe are being displayed nationwide in galleries.

They were taken by American photo-journalist Eve Arnold, who took the photographs in the 1950s and 1960s.

One of the highlights is the exhibition entitled Marilyn at the Westover Gallery in Bournemouth, which showcases eight images from 1961.

These candid shots were taken while Monroe was filming The Misfits – her last ever completed film.

In total, 495 previously unseen photographs are being displayed across the country and 350 prints ranging from £350 to £600 are available to buy.

Arnold said of the actress: "She liked my pictures and was canny enough to realise that they were a fresh approach for presenting her - a looser, more intimate look than the posed studio portraits she was used to in Hollywood."

The American photographer is 98-years-old and is best known for her images of Monroe from 1961.

She has also photographed Elizabeth II, Malcolm X and Joan Crawford.

Posted by Harry Baxter