Marilyn Monroe in a Cadillac Holding a Portrait of Abraham Lincoln, 1954

On a Los Angeles street in 1954, photographer Milton Greene took these images of Marilyn Monroe in a red checkered shirt posing in a brand new Cadillac holding a portrait of one of her heroes, Abraham Lincoln. The car was given to her by Jack Benny for appearing on his television show and it took only a phonecall by Benny to the Cadillac Corporation, one of his sponsors.

Marilyn had “a thing” for Abraham Lincoln. She became friendly with Lincoln biographer Carl Sandburg and thought that her playwright husband, Arthur Miller, bore a striking resemblance to the 16th president.