Marilyn Monroe, 1957

Marilyn Monroe is a siren in red. Milton photographed Marilyn Monroe in this series, appropriately titled “The Red Dress Sitting” for Life magazine in January 1957. This series produced several memorable images, displaying the playful eroticism that was apparent in all their work together. Marilyn teases with her hair in this sensuous image with one leg crossed in front and her elbow propped on the other. Her fiery red heels match her dress and pop perfectly against a black background. This sitting in January of 1957, in that simple red dress, would be their last.Milton used a twin lens Rolliflex with a 2.8 planar lens and early Kodak E-3 Ektachrome color positive film. No longer printable photographically, the original film was drum-scanned. After 40 hours of digital restoration, Joshua Greene (son of Milton H. Greene) resurrected this image.