Monroe achieved such popularity due to a perfect storm of biography and cultural context, a potential that she managed to capitalise on with shrewd image management. Oates’ novel makes it clear that references to “the President” in the book are to Kennedy. Moreover, no one would interpret her reference to “RF” as code for anyone other than “RFK” – the president’s brother, Attorney General Robert F Kennedy. In the novel, death comes “hurtling toward her” in the form of a man “without passion and without pity”, an assassin. The man does not know whether his mission is “to protect the President from the President’s blond whore” or whether the real purpose is “to damage the President for being associated with the blond whore”. Using a key he has been given by a person identified as “RF”, the assassin gets into Monroe’s house at night when she is asleep. Then, equipped with a syringe loaded with a fatal dose of a sleeping medication, he “[sinks] the six-inch needle to the hilt into her heart”. The other great theatre of identity wars was the cold war, where Monroe represented a celebration of everything that the American narrative insisted the Soviets wanted to destroy. The eager popular consumption of Marilyn was emblematic of the golden age of capitalism born of a post-war economic boom.

In Oates’ novel, though, the most blatant historical libel targets Monroe’s 1962 involvement with “the President”. “The President”, from a hugely wealthy Irish-American family, is a clear reference to Kennedy. In the novel, the President asks peremptorily to see Monroe, has sex with her repeatedly, then becomes inaccessible until “the summons” comes again. Monroe with President John F Kennedy (right) and his brother Robert, after JFK’s birthday party in 1962. Photograph: Cecil Stoughton/EPABEAUTY AND SUSTAINABILITY: Our goal is always to create beauty from a place of SUSTAINABILITY and respect, principles that are part of the brand’s DNA. Lladró respects all the resources involved in the process of creating, making and selling our porcelain artworks, to offer a BEAUTIFUL, SUSTAINABLE and DURABLE product. For some, death can be a smart career move. Quite how smart a move depends a lot on who you are and how you die. As we approach the 60th anniversary of the death of Marilyn Monroe, we can learn a few lessons about the art and implications of dying a huge public personality.

Books – HRD Auction Rooms Ltd do not guarantee the completeness of any book and buyers are urged to inspect lots themselves.Monroe made her name as a “blonde bombshell,” a glamorous pin-up model and Hollywood actress/singer who was a favourite focus for the voracious mid-century male gaze. But she was by no means the first, following in the high-heeled footsteps of Mae West and Jean Harlow. Nor was she the last: Anita Ekberg, Jayne Mansfield, Kim Novak and Doris Day all came after. So what elevates Monroe above mere celebrity into the status of icon? Indeed, it is the radical reinvention of her image that helps explain her appeal. In the shift from Norma Jeane to Marilyn, from girl-next-door brunette to blinding-peroxide blonde, and from stammerer to vocal seductress, she also moved from victim to agent.

Her visual image has been a recurring theme for artists, notably Andy Warhol, who produced several pieces using images of her face, and who channelled Marilyn himself in photographs by Christopher Makos. In turn, Warhol’s representations have become a touchstone for subsequent artefacts including a 70cm-high plastic figurine, a Nike Warhol/Monroe custom AirMax shoe and a 3,000-piece Lego reproduction. She has been referenced in adverts for cheese, cars and whisky, and in multiple music videos. She lends her name to a Christian metalcore band, a jewellery collection and a pair of skyscrapers in Ontario. She is the subject of countless pieces of visual art, including caricatures, collages and digital prints. Will the upcoming movie spin the same tale? Dominik has said the film will be “critical of American sacred cows”, including Kennedy, and that “there’s something in it to offend everyone”. It is evident that the film will push the limits. Netflix reportedly insisted on hiring an editor to “curb the excesses” of the production. Even so, it has an NC-17 rating, which – in theory – bars viewing by anyone 17 or under in the US. Commission Bidding – HRD Auction Rooms Ltd will be pleased to accept commission bids up to one hour before the start of the auction. Remember that a buyer’s premium of 20% inclusive of VAT will be added to successful bids. Commission bids are executed as cheaply as possible, having regard to any reserve and competing bids. If two buyers submit identical bids the auctioneers will prefer the first bid received. Terms and Conditions – All sales are conducted according to our full conditions of sale, and our staff will be happy to help you if there is anything you do not fully understand.

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The particular image she constructed also mattered, as her white-blonde hair was a startling reassurance of American-ness at a time when American identity was itself being fiercely protected. When Oates’ novel came out, her defence was that, in a work of fiction, she “had no particular obligation” to the facts. In my view, that is not so. The people she named in her novel were real people with real reputations – and historical legacies – and such fictional fabrication is unjustifiably cruel. The fact that the individuals concerned are dead is no defence.