IT’S TIME TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT.
Marilyn was the character she created.
She played it so well, the world mistook it for the woman.
I am often asked:
“Why do you think Marilyn Monroe’s legacy is so enduring?”
We do not ask this of Marlon Brando.
Behind the question is an assumption: perhaps she was never really that remarkable.
She was.
Monroe was an actor of extraordinary instinct, intelligence and comic ability. The people who worked with her knew it.
“Marilyn is as near a genius as any actress I ever knew. She is an artist beyond artistry.”
Joshua Logan, director of Bus Stop
THE PHOTOGRAPH THE WORLD MISREAD
When Eve Arnold photographed Marilyn Monroe reading Ulysses in 1955, the image was treated as a contradiction: the “blonde bombshell” absorbed in one of literature’s most demanding books.
It wasn’t a contradiction.
Art historian Griselda Pollock later helped reveal its deeper significance. Marilyn was reading Molly Bloom’s soliloquy as part of her acting work with Lee Strasberg.
The book was not a prop. It was part of the work.
Eve did not photograph a woman trying to look intelligent. She photographed an actor preparing.
The image does not reveal a hidden side of Marilyn. It reveals how completely the public image had obscured the actor.
MARILYN WAS HER GREATEST ROLE.
She played it so brilliantly that the world stopped seeing the actor.
WHY WE CREATED THIS POSTER
This photograph still has something urgent to say.
It challenges one of the most persistent myths surrounding Marilyn Monroe and reflects something central to Eve Arnold’s work: her refusal to reduce people to an image or stereotype.
In recent years, the Eve Arnold Estate has released a growing number of small, editioned prints. We also recognise that fine-art photography remains beyond many people’s budgets.
This poster offers a more accessible way to live with Eve’s work while helping to preserve and share her archive.
Marilyn Monroe Reading Ulysses, 1955
A2 poster · £49 plus delivery · Worldwide shipping
Available only until 6 September 2026, when the design will be retired.
A time-limited A2 poster featuring Eve Arnold’s celebrated 1955 photograph of Marilyn Monroe reading James Joyce’s Ulysses.
Marilyn was studying Molly Bloom’s soliloquy as part of her acting work. She was not posing as an intellectual. She was rehearsing.
The poster design and master file were created by Danny Pope for the Eve Arnold Estate. Printed on smooth matte paper, it has been produced as a more accessible way for people to live with Eve’s work.
A2 size: 42 × 59.4 cm
Printed on thick matte paper
Supplied unframed
Shipped rolled in protective packaging
Produced on demand
Poster design and master file created by Danny Pope
This is a poster, not an editioned Estate print
Available until 6 September 2026, when the design will be retired
Every purchase helps support the preservation and sharing of Eve Arnold’s archive.
This poster is made especially for you when your order is placed. Producing each poster on demand helps avoid unnecessary stock and waste. Please allow time for production before dispatch.
Design and master file created by Danny Pope for the Eve Arnold Estate.
Every purchase helps support the preservation and sharing of Eve Arnold’s archive.
CREATED TO MARK
MARILYN MONROE: A PORTRAIT
This poster was created by the Eve Arnold Estate to coincide with Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait at the National Portrait Gallery, London, where Eve’s photographs form an important part of the exhibition.
It will be available only until the exhibition closes on 6 September 2026, when the design will be retired.
