Forever Marilynthat 26-feet tall, stainless steel statue of Marilyn Monroe from The Seven Year Itchmay be returning to Palm Springs in September, reports The Desert Sun.
The statue had graced Palm Springs in the past. Thanks to a loan from the Sculpture Foundation, which owns the statue, Forever Marilyn stood in downtown Palm Springs from 2012 to 2014. Now, the city wants to bring Marilyn back as it ramps up its plans to revitalize its downtown.
PS Resortsa local non-profit that aims to boost tourism to the cityis largely behind the initiative to secure the statue. The organization says that it will foot the bill to make it happen; half of the money will come from an agreement with a liquer company, and the other half will come through private fundraising. The current proposal is for the statue to be installed outside the Spa Resort Casino. Aftab Dada, chair of PS Resorts, told the Palm Springs City Council on Wednesday night that the plan is to have the statue at the end of September.
"I think that will be a great publicity and bring a lot of people from other cities into our downtown, and will tremendously help all our merchants, because she is a magnet, and great traffic driver," said Dada.
Forever Marilyn was constructed in 2011 by sculptor Seward Johnson, who has a knack for turning American iconography into giant-sized replications. The statue is often mocked by art critics and casual onlookers; VirtualTourist named it as one of the worst pieces of public art in America. But a lot of people also like taking pictures with it. As such, the statue has been shipped around to different cities to catch the gaze of curious onlookers. It had spent a year on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, and it was last spotted in the Australian city of Bendigo. Forever Marilyn is now heading back to its hometown of Jersey, and, if all things go according to plan, it"ll be coming to Palm Springs in the fall.
Anyway, here are some images of the statue at its last stop in Australia:
There are many ways of measuring a stars staying power. But one of the best barometers must surely belong to Marilyn Monroe whose used lipstick is expected to fetch up to US$20,000 when it goes up for auction in November, 54 years after her death.
The 1947 Revlon lipstick in pink Bachelors Carnation, complete with smudges around the rim, was discovered in a secret compartment of one of the actresss evening bags by auctioneers who had spent years hunting down Monroes possessions for a once-in-a-lifetime auction.
Such is the Marilyn factor that we estimate the lipstick will sell for $15,000-$20,000, or probably much more. Its so personal, explains Martin Nolan, executive director at Los Angeles auction house Juliens. Its one of 500 of Monroes personal effects that are set to smash records when they are auctioned in Los Angeles.
But before then and in honour of what would have been the actresss 90th birthday today the sale items are being exhibited at Londons Chelsea Harbour Design Centre. They include everything from her Gucci address book (containing a whos who of celebrity telephone numbers) to beloved clothes, personal correspondence and artworks.
Meanwhile, an exhibition of rare shots of the star, ranging from her days as Norma Jean Baker to the famous Last Sitting images by Bert Stern, taken six weeks before her death, opens at The Showroom Presents in London tomorrow.
Why is Monroe still so fascinating 54 years after her untimely death? Shes this blonde bombshell who has been frozen in time, Nolan says of the actress, who overdosed at her LA home in 1962. We still think of her as that elegant 36-year-old who everyone feels they know and love.
Nolan has been orchestrating the auction for a few years now, and will bring together two private collections. The first is from the estate of Marilyns acting teacher Lee Strasberg, who along with his wife Paula, was Monroes closest confidante and was left all of her personal effects in her will. The second collection comes from David Gainsborough-Roberts, a British man who became enthralled by Marilyn in 1988 and began investing in items owned and worn by the star. Now hes decided, says Nolan, that Marilyn is bigger than him and that his collection should go to good homes.
Nolan believes the auction will be record-breaking because it includes some of Monroes most personal items. My favourite piece is a miniaudiere evening bag, which is gold and bejewelled in amber with a black velvet lining, says Nolan. He describes how the bag is still filled with all the accoutrements of a night out on the town: theres a gold tray containing loose powder, eight Phillip Morris cigarettes in perfect condition, and even two dimes, which is what youd need to call a taxi home its a true picture. Another handbag contains a matching set of comb, compact and cigarette lighter all exactly as you imagine Marilyn left them when she flung them aside after an evening out.
We still think of her as that elegant 36-year-old who everyone feels they know and love
Despite the fact that Monroes films grossed $200 million by the time of her death, Nolan says she owned surprisingly few lavish items. She actually had very few fine jewellery pieces of her own. For her it was all about the costume jewellery, but obviously when she wore it, it had that wow factor. Among the paste necklaces and bracelets by costume jewellery specialist Albert Weiss is only one piece that does include real diamonds: an elegantly dainty cocktail watch from Swiss watchmakers Blancpain. Its face value is $80,000 to $100,000 but Nolan says the skys the limit when you know that it graced the wrist of Monroe.
No other celebrity has achieved the collectability of Marilyn. She has fans all over the world and she transcends age groups, with fans from five years old to 95 years old, says Nolan. Its very rare to find items from her life or career, and this is the last auction of its kind.
Some of the most touching items in the auction are actually the ones that emphasise the mundane. There are receipts for bacon and lard, an insurance document scrawled over with a recipe for stuffing and a journal in which shed written that she was Alone!!!!! All alone.
Marilyn created this public image around herself as the humorous blonde bombshell. It made her famous, but she couldnt escape it, says Nolan, of the woman who spent most of her childhood in foster homes after her mother was hospitalized for schizophrenia. She had a hard life, getting married three weeks after her 16th birthday. There was no one who loved her unconditionally, but she was always searching for that. It was very sad.
