At the time of Marilyn Monroe’s visit to England for the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl in 1956, Monroe and Jack Cardiff had been friends for some time. During one of their many discussions about art, Cardiff suggested that he photograph Monroe in the style of a Renoir girl.
The photo session took place at the house in which Monroe and her new husband Arthur Miller were staying in England, Parkside House, Englefield Green, Surrey. Cardiff recalls arriving in the morning to be greeted by Arthur Miller who suggested breakfast and a game of tennis whilst they waited for Marilyn to get up. By six o’clock that evening she was ready.
He became something of a confidant of Marilyn Monroe. He was drawn both to her beauty and her vulnerability. “Marilyn never said a nasty word about anyone – she was like a child,” he wrote.
During lunch breaks on the set, he would often ask the leading actress to sit for still photographic portraits. One included a soft focus informal shot of Monroe that became husband Arthur Miller’s favorite.
Marilyn Monroe once handed him a signed photograph of herself and said: “Dear Jack, if only I could be the way you have created me.”
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