Marilyn Monroe - Photographed by Richard Avedon in May 1957

Recalling a portrait session with Monroe that took place in his studio in May 1957, Avedon said “For hours she danced and sang and flirted and did this thing that she did Marilyn Monroe. And then there was the inevitable drop. And when the night was over and the white wine was over and the dancing was over, she sat in the corner like a child, with everything gone. I saw her sitting quietly without expression on her face, and I walked towards her, but I wouldn’t photograph her without her knowledge of it. And as I came with the camera, I saw that she was not saying no.”

Avedon managed to capture one of the most photographed stars with her public façade down, producing an image that provides a rare glimpse of her inner life.