Staley-Wise Gallery in New York is presenting 'Becoming Marilyn' from June 18 to August 21, 2026, a photography exhibition centered on Marilyn Monroe’s transformation from Norma Jeane Baker into one of the most recognizable figures in 20th-century popular culture. The gallery’s exhibition page describes the show as bringing together iconic photographs of Monroe by a range of well-known photographers, tracing that progression through images made over nearly two decades.
The exhibition assembles work by photographers including André de Dienes, Slim Aarons, Cecil Beaton, Milton Greene, Elliott Erwitt, George Barris, Sam Shaw, Ed Feingersh, Lawrence Schiller, Eve Arnold, Philippe Halsman, Richard Avedon, Bert Stern and others. The selection moves from early images of Norma Jeane Baker in California in the mid-1940s to later photographs of Monroe in New York, Los Angeles and Nevada, emphasizing the variety of settings in which her public image was formed and refined. Staley-Wise’s presentation also includes photo captions and contextual notes that situate many of the pictures within specific film promotions, portrait sittings and magazine commissions.
Among the early works listed are André de Dienes’ photographs of Norma Jeane in California in 1945 and 1946, including beach and studio images that the gallery’s text links to the first phase of Monroe’s career. The exhibition also includes Slim Aarons’ 'Fan Mail: Marilyn Monroe sorts out her fan mail shortly after her film 'The Asphalt Jungle' had been released, 1952', a picture the gallery notes was made after Aarons filled in for another photographer on a double-booked assignment. The show’s captions frame these images not simply as celebrity portraits, but as records of a young performer learning to inhabit the visual language that would come to define her public identity.
Several photographs in the exhibition track Monroe’s move between Hollywood and New York during the 1950s. The gallery highlights Ed Feingersh’s image of Monroe on the subway at Grand Central Station in 1955, noting that after leaving Hollywood she moved to New York, formed a production company with Milton Greene and studied method acting at The Actor’s Studio. Other works include Cecil Beaton’s 1956 portrait session in New York, Milton Greene’s 'Ballerina' sitting from 1954, Richard Avedon’s 1957 portrait, and Sam Shaw’s images made on benches, streets and club interiors around the city. The gallery’s text presents these photographs as part of a broader story of Monroe’s carefully managed public presence, one that could appear playful, intimate or vulnerable depending on the photographer and the moment.
'Becoming Marilyn' also reaches into Monroe’s final years. The exhibition includes Lawrence Schiller’s photographs from the set of 'Something’s Got to Give' in 1962, made on Monroe’s 36th birthday, and Eve Arnold’s studio shot from 'The Misfits' in 1960, which the gallery describes as capturing Monroe in a troubled period. Bert Stern’s 'The Last Sitting®' is represented by multiple images, including portraits and contact-sheet material from 1962. The exhibition page also notes that Monroe would have celebrated her 100th birthday this year, situating the show within that anniversary context.
Staley-Wise Gallery describes itself on social media as a fine art photography gallery specializing in fashion photography and portraiture for more than 30 years. The gallery’s website lists its address as 100 Crosby Street, Suite 305, New York, and notes summer hours of Monday through Friday, 11 am to 5 pm. 'Becoming Marilyn' is listed on the gallery’s exhibitions page for June 18 through August 21, 2026.
