Marilyn frolicking in the surf. That first one just makes me smile every time I see it. Maybe because I don’t see that much difference between her there, a grown woman, and me here, a small child. It has that same unselfconsciousness.

Marilyn frolicking in the surf. That first one just makes me smile every time I see it. Maybe because I don’t see that much difference between her there, a grown woman, and me here, a small child. It has that same unselfconsciousness.

She just looks so happy and wholesome! I love Sam Shaw, he shows a side of Marilyn I don’t think other photographers are equally able to capture… that freshness, that sense that she was just this young woman frolicking in the water and not such a mega star.
I remember that the first time I really, really looked at Marilyn Monroe and thought: “Wow, WHO is this?” I was 11 years old and it was over a couple of pics taken by André de Dienes. They were also on the beach, and Marilyn was not yet a star, and she was also frolicking and playing with the sand, with the wind and the waves…
There is something about Marilyn at the beach, it seems, hehe!
She really is a mermaid, isn’t she!