Rare Photos of Marilyn Monroe in New York (32 photos)
In early 1955, 29-year-old Marilyn Monroe left Hollywood on the advice of her mentor, Lee Strasberg, heading to New York to break free from her Twentieth Century Fox contract and shake off her "dumb blonde" image. 
In New York, Monroe set up home in a suite at the Ambassador Hotel and co-founded Marilyn Monroe Productions alongside photographer and friend Milton Greene. Both Monroe and Greene agreed that her public image needed a complete overhaul if she was ever to be taken seriously as an actress. Greene commissioned a photo feature with Redbook magazine, hoping they would publish pictures of the "real Marilyn."
For one week, Redbook photographer Ed Feingersh shadowed Monroe across New York City, capturing a stunning series of intimate black-and-white portraits of the Hollywood star. 
1. Marilyn arriving at the Elizabeth Arden salon on Fifth Avenue. 
2. Departing from her usual photo shoots, Marilyn agreed to be photographed without makeup or styled hair.
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4. Leaving the salon. 
5. The iconic shot of Marilyn on the balcony of her suite at the Ambassador Hotel. 
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8. Marilyn admiring wall murals by famed The New Yorker artist and cartoonist James Thurber at Costello's Restaurant on 44th Street. 
9. Chatting with Redbook editor Robert Stein at Costello's. 
10. Wearing an Ambassador Hotel robe in her room. 
11. Marilyn putting on lipstick while getting ready for the premiere of Tennessee Williams' play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. 
12. Dressed to impress, Marilyn wore a form-fitting gold dress with a dramatic slit. 
13. An iconic moment: Marilyn applying Chanel No. 5. 
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15. A coy smile at a restaurant following the premiere. 
16. Exhausted, Marilyn rests briefly in the hotel lobby. 
17. A rare candid shot capturing Marilyn's vulnerability and fragile grace. 
18. Buying a copy of the New York Post on her way to the subway. 
19. Waiting for a train at Grand Central Terminal. 
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22. An incognito subway ride. 
23. Marilyn and Milton Greene. 
24. Marilyn getting ready backstage for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey charity circus benefit at Madison Square Garden. 
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27. As part of the charity performance, Marilyn agreed to ride into the arena atop a pink elephant. 
28. She grew frustrated when her outfit didn't fit properly... 
29. ...and eventually broke down in tears. 
30. But in the end, everything came together. 
31. Marilyn making a grand entrance before the crowd atop the elephant. 
32. Ed Feingersh's photos of Marilyn Monroe were published in Redbook magazine in July 1955. Although he captured some of her most celebrated images, the two never worked together again.
