Historic Marilyn Monroe ''red Velvet'' Color Separations To Tour Five U.s. Cities

Iconic 1949 image, and the original large-format color separations used to produce the famous calendars, will be on public view for the first time. This historic image graced the inaugural issue of Playboy Magazine, propelling Hugh Hefner into the publishing spotlight, launching his popular mega-empire.

Los Angeles, Calif. (MMD Newswire) July 14, 2015 — Limited Runs, vintage poster and art retailer announces its partnership with the Messenger Art Collection to tour the historic, one-of-a-kind color separations used to produce the iconic Marilyn Monroe “Golden Dreams” calendars from the 1949 nude “Red Velvet” photo shoot. The Kodachrome photograph and 21 large format separations (24″ x 20″) will be made available for limited public viewing in five U.S. cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago and New York.

The purpose of the tour is not only to bring this previously unseen masterpiece of art and photography to the public, but to identify the appropriate museum or private collection for permanent placement. Hugh Hefner, in an interview clip that is a part of the soon-to-be released documentary, Marilyn Monroe Declassified, produced by Paul Davids Films, admits without hesitation that this stunning photo of the unknown starlet played a major role in the success of his Playboy Empire.

The History of the Red Velvet Photo Shoot

Out of work and broke, on May 27, 1949, Marilyn posed nude for photographer Tom Kelley at his studio in Hollywood, California for a photo shoot commissioned by Chicago-based calendar company the John Baumgarth Company. Agreeing to the session under the condition that Kelley’s wife, Natalie, attend the shoot, the actress signed the model release as “Mona Monroe” and earned a paltry $50. Neither the photographer, nor 22-year old Marilyn realized the historic moment they were creating.

Not long afterwards, a group of color separations from the photo shoot arrived at Baumgarth’s offices, and almost as an afterthought, were included in producing the company’s 1951 calendar line. The separations were used to develop three iconic images of the bombshell that were then printed and sold in an estimated 9 million “Golden Dreams” calendars. Reproducing Monroe’s refined features, supple texture and luxurious tones was no small feat – print artisans painstakingly created and corrected by hand the many layers of film for the full color printing process to make the original Chromalin color separations – a masterpiece of printer’s art.

In late winter 1952, the press discovered that the nude model in these best-selling calendars was none other than 20th Century Fox’s biggest star. The Studio’s initial reaction was to deny everything. No major Hollywood celebrity had ever done such a thing.

As legend has it, Monroe was instrumental in persuading 20th Century that their inclination to deny the whole thing was the wrong way to address the scandal. Monroe was right. In an exclusive interview with UnitedPress International, Monroe admitted to posing for the photo and explained how difficult her life was at the time. The story “Marilyn Monroe Admits She’s Nude Blonde of Calendar” hit the wire on March 13, 1952, and was picked up globally. Public forgiveness was swift, and Monroe was further catapulted into international superstardom.

Astute young magazine publisher Hugh Hefner purchased the rights to reproduce the “Golden Dreams” image from Baumgarth to be the centerpiece of the inaugural issue of Playboy Magazine in December 1953. In its first printing, Playboy sold over 50,000 copies of Monroe’s issue, allowing Hefner to continue production of the popular gentlemen’s publication and ultimately, grow his brand into Playboy Enterprises, Inc.

Believed to have been lost forever, the Kodachrome photo and color separations actually remained amidst Baumgarth’s massive print archives. Narrowly escaping destruction on multiple occasions, the separations changed hands several times through a series of corporate asset acquisitions until acquired as part of a corporate art collection purchased by the Messenger Art Collection in 2010. These are the only known surviving examples of the original separations used to produce Golden Dreams calendars.

The Kodachrome photograph is framed and the color Separations are now mounted and protected in OP3 museum-quality acrylic frames (29″ x 24″) and will be showcased in venues across America.

LOS ANGELES July 29 through Saturday, August 1st | Strauss Studios 6442 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90038 July 29th - Opening Night Premiere 6 - 9PM July 30th - August 1st 11AM - 6PM

SAN FRANCISCO August 5th through Saturday, August 8th | Sarah Stocking Gallery 368 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA 94111 August 5th - Opening Night Premiere 6 - 9PM August 6th - August 8th 10AM - 6PM

LAS VEGAS August 13th through Saturday, August 15th | Caesars Palace - convention center off Forum Shops 3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109 August 13th - Opening Night Premiere 6 - 9PM August 14th - August 15th 11AM - 7PM

CHICAGO September 17th through Saturday, September 19th | The Study Chicago 1837 W. Fulton Street, Chicago, Illinois 60612 September 17th - Opening Night Premiere 6 - 9PM September 18th - September 19th 11AM - 6PM

NEW YORK September 24th through Saturday, September 26th | 360 Design Gallery - SOHO 104 Charlton Street, New York, NY 10014 September 24th - Opening Night Premiere 6 - 9PM September 25th - September 26th 11AM - 6PM

For more information: www.messengerartcollection.com and www.limitedruns.com

CONTACT:

PIERRE VUDRAG, LIMITED RUNS COLLECTION pierre@limitedruns.com

SUE RODERICK, MESSENGER ART sue@messengerartcollection.com

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