Who was Marilyn Monroe?

Marilyn Monroe tries on a bikini she’d purchased to see if her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, approves. This 1960 John Bryson photo is part of the “Marilyn Monroe: Life As a Legend” exhibit on display at the Winnipeg Art Museum. Special to The Forum When Time magazine listed it’s 100 most influential people of the 20th century, it included actress Marilyn Monroe in the company of saints, philosophers and scientists, such as Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Einstein.

The validity of such lists may be debated, but Monroe’s inclusion does speak to the legendary status achieved by her, perhaps still the ultimate icon of Hollywood sexuality. Her mythology is impressive.
“Marilyn Monroe: Life As a Legend,” which is at the Winnipeg Art Gallery through June 7, is a testimony to that legacy. The exhibit is comprised of more than 200 pieces and includes a number of screenprints, photographs by Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Douglas Kirkland, mixed-media sculpture, oil-on-canvas works and more.