From the prestigious MUUS Collection, the photography exhibition Becoming Marilyn / Becoming Elvis explores the rise to stardom of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley, as documented by the photographers André de Dienes and Alfred Wertheimer respectively.

At the height of their fame, Marilyn and Elvis became untouchable: a source of fixation that has not faded even half a century after her and his death. But for a moment in time, as they began their ascent, each fostered a relationship of trust with the two photographers, allowing the cameras to get up close and personal. Becoming Marilyn / Becoming Elvis demonstrates the everlasting cultural impact of the two stars, felt from the moment they first stepped into the spotlight.

In November 1945, the photographer André de Dienes met 19-year-old Norma Jeane Baker, a then-unknown model. Like being struck by a lightning bolt, Norma Jeane instantly became André de Dienes’ muse. Over the next decade, he would witness and capture in photographs her transformation into Marylin Monroe.

In 1956, Alfred Wertheimer, on hire by RCA Victor, spent a few weeks photographing a promising young talent named Elvis Presley, resulting in a fascinating and insightful look at Elvis’s life at the time: traveling between Memphis and New York City, on train rides, on romantic dates, backstage and onstage at his first TV appearances at the Stage Show, Wertheimer captured some of the most iconic images of Elvis as he transcended into stardom.

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