A selection of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia will go up for auction to mark the Hollywood icon’s 100th birthday.
The auction includes letters and handwritten notes, paintings, poetry, makeup, jewellery, and pieces from her wardrobe.
Items up for auction
More than 80 artefacts that provide a personal, unfiltered glimpse into Monroe’s relationships and inner existence will be available at Heritage starting on June 1.
The archive “tells the story of Monroe’s life in her own words and from those closest to her during the final seven years of her life,” according to a press release.
The auction includes a two-piece wool skirt suit designed by Christian Dior that the actress famously wore on her honeymoon with Joe DiMaggio, a 1950s Jeanne Lanvin/Paris elegant ivory silk evening gown, a 1950s tan cotton brassiere, her Helena Rubinstein mascara, and a Max Factor lipstick Lip Pomade.
It will also feature Monroe’s personal telephone book, a handwritten counter check, a William Morris Agency contract, her 1956 SAG membership card, and her annotated script of “Something’s Got to Give” with notes.
It will also include a pearl-set Faberge table clock and the wooden fence of Monroe’s home, which was named a “Historic-Cultural Monument” in 2024.
In addition, never-before-seen photographs, letters from her ex-husband, writer Arthur Miller, and an unread letter from Monroe’s psychiatrist detailing the day before her death are up for auction.
“It’s really special because this isn’t material that’s been bought and sold over the decades. This is something that’s a discovery,” Heritage Auctions senior director of Hollywood and entertainment Brian Chanes stated.
“This is not simply a collection of familiar artefacts, but a remarkable archive of primary material that offers fresh insight into her inner world and a true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for collectors, scholars, and admirers alike,” Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena said.
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Past auctions
Memorabilia from Monroe’s life and career have regularly fetched huge prices at public auctions.
In 2011, the famous white dress she wore in “The Seven Year Itch” (1955) sold for $4.6million, more than doubling its initial estimate.
In 2016, the dress she wore to sing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy sold for $4.8million, making it the most expensive dress ever sold at auction.
In 2022, Andy Warhol’s “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” (1964) sold for $195million.
“Marilyn is just an icon,” said Chanes. “People love and adore Marilyn to this day.”
“Marilyn Monroe remains one of the most enduring and influential figures in American popular culture, a presence that has shaped generations and continues to captivate us today,” Maddalena stated.
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