Previously Unseen Photographs of Marilyn Monroe Published for First Time

Dec 10, 2025

Pesala Bandara

A woman with short blonde hair and red lipstick reclines in a bubble-filled bathtub, gazing upward. People and studio lights are visible in the background, suggesting a film or photo shoot set. — Marilyn Monroe, *The Seven Year Itch*, Los Angeles, California, 1954 © Shaw Family Archives Ltd

A new book Dear Marilyn: The Unseen Letters and Photographs reveals a collection of long-lost photographs of Marilyn Monroe and explores the photographer behind some of her most iconic images.

Photographer Sam Shaw, who died in 1999, produced many of Monroe’s most defining images, including the wind-blown scene from The Seven Year Itch. The photograph from that moment remains one of the widely recognized and influential images on Monroe to this day.

A woman with wavy blonde hair wears a white sleeveless top and a chunky beaded necklace, standing outdoors with trees and greenery blurred in the background. — Marilyn Monroe at Roxbury, Connecticut, 1957 © Shaw Family Archives Ltd

Tom Ewell and Marilyn Monroe creating the famous ‘billowing skirt’ scene in The Seven Year Itch, 51st Street and Lexington Avenue, New York City, September 15, 1954 © Shaw Family Archives Ltd

Shaw began his photography career in the 1940s with Collier’s magazine, photographing the everyday life of ordinary people. He traveled the USA creating reportages on such subjects as jazz musicians in New Orleans, farmers and coal miners in West Virginia, WWII, and the burlesque, before going on to work with film studios in New York, Los Angeles and Europe as a stills photographer. He became a close friend of Monroe in the early 1950s, soon serving as her de facto personal photographer. Their collaboration lasted until her death and played a significant role in shaping the visual legacy associated with her.

A man in a suit and glasses points forward while standing next to a woman in a white dress. They pose in front of a large steel bridge on a cloudy day, with a city street and trees visible below.

A black-and-white photo showing a man in glasses facing a woman with curled blonde hair and a fur wrap, softly lit, as they appear to be talking on a film or photo set. — Richard Avedon and Marilyn Monroe in Avedon’s studio, New York City, 1954 © Shaw Family Archives Ltd

Smiling woman with blonde hair in a light blue, polka-dot dress stands outdoors, holding a pink flower in her mouth. The background is blurred greenery, creating a warm and cheerful atmosphere. — Marilyn Monroe in Roxbury, Connecticut, 1957 © Shaw Family Archives Ltd

Following Shaw’s death, his family discovered a substantial archive of previously unseen photographs of Monroe, letters between the pair as well as journals, and drawings. These materials form the basis of Dear Marilyn: The Unseen Letters and Photographs, published by ACC Art Books. Long believed lost, the photographs and documents provide new insight into Monroe’s life and offer a behind-the-scenes record of her work and friendship with Shaw.

Black and white photo of a woman with wavy blonde hair wearing a white top and a chunky necklace. Overlaid text reads: "Dear Marilyn: The Unseen Letters and Photographs, Sam Shaw.

Sam Shaw in Europe, 1950s © Shaw Family Archives Ltd

The book draws on Shaw’s personal correspondence and diary entries, as well as digitally remastered photographs sourced from 1950s archival material. The collection includes behind-the-scenes images from the filming of The Seven Year Itch, including the “subway grate” series, along with candid photographs of Monroe at home in New York and at the beach in Amagansett. Many of these pictures have never been published. As the world revisits Monroe’s legacy on the centenary of her birth, Dear Marilyn: The Unseen Letters and Photographs offers new context for her career and public image through material created by one of her closest professional partners.

Dear Marilyn: The Unseen Letters and Photographs is published by ACC Books.

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