Oil Portrait Of Marilyn Monroe At The Misfits Premiere Anthony De Frange 1972
Item History & Price
Marilyn Monroe, the beautiful and talented model, singer and actress, was the world's greatest sex symbol. She was the blonde that gentlemen preferred, all the golden dream girls rolled into one -- superstar, icon of icons, a living symbol of beauty, sensuality, and charisma never to be seen again on this earth, except in her legacy of films. Her unforgettable image ...has been immortalized in a myriad of publicity stills and candid photos, on posters, tshirts, coffee mugs and sketch pads, and on the canvases of painters, known and unknown.
This rare vintage oil painting by the late award-winning San Francisco artist, Anthony De Frange, depicts Marilyn Monroe as she appeared at the world premiere for the motion picture "The Misfits" on January 31, 1961. On that glamorous night, she was escorted by her friend and costar, Montgomery Clift, at the Loew's Capitol Theater, on Broadway in New York City. Marilyn looked elegant and sophisticated in a black fitted cocktail dress with a sensuous fur-trimmed wrap and black evening gloves. Hairdresser Kenneth Batelle had styled her hair in a bouffant, of longer length than usual.
In this beautiful portrait, Marilyn emanates pure Hollywood style, characteristic of the blonde bombshell persona that she could slip in and out of at will. However, deep inside she was still Norma Jean Baker, the lonely, fatherless child who had spent time in foster homes and an orphanage on account of her mother's mental illness. Like most human beings, she longed to be loved for who she was, and to have a real family of her own. She also wanted to be taken seriously as an actress. Playwright Arthur Miller, her third husband, wrote "The Misfits" to help Marilyn realize this ambition and also to help her recover from a miscarriage. Her role as Roslyn Taber, an ex-stripper filing for divorce in Reno, was her most serious dramatic performance ever. In a case of life imitating art, just ten days before the film premiere, Marilyn filed for divorce from Miller. He also attended the premiere, accompanied with his children, Jane and Robert, but they carefully stayed far from her.
What sets this realist painting apart from other works of MM art, is that her expression is charming yet demure. She appears somewhat coy with her sideways glance, like Princess Diana who would charm the world twenty years later. Marilyn Monroe is usually depicted with her signature flirtatious smile, half open lips and languid eyes. Her seductive features are often mottled with crazy colors and abstract forms, first popularized by Andy Warhol, then imitated to the point of cliché. This evocative realist painting has a refreshingly natural color palette and true-to-life form.
"The Misfits" was the last film completed by Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe, the uncrowned King and Queen of Hollywood. Gable died of a heart attack shortly after filming ended, at the age of 59. Marilyn would follow him in death under mysterious circumstances just 18 months later on August 5, 1962, at the age of 36. The passing of these great and deeply cherished movie stars was a harbinger for the decline of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Fortunately for us, they left behind their unique magic on the screen and in works of art like this one to delight generations to come.
There's no doubt that on the night of the premiere, Marilyn was in mourning for Clark Gable who was an adored father figure to her. In fact, Marilyn never knew her real father. When she was seven years old, she had been shown a photograph of a man that her mother Gladys identified as her father, Charles Stanley Gifford. She thought he somewhat resembled Clark Gable, so the solitary, imaginative young girl amused herself by pretending that Gable was her dad. Being able to work alongside her idol had been like a dream come true for Marilyn, But her fragile state of mind caused her to create long delays on the set, the stress of which may have contributed to Gable's death. However, the veteran actor had displayed signs of heart disease in prior years due to his heavy drinking and smoking, so she was not entirely to blame for his early demise. Despite the on-set difficulties during the filming, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift and Eli Wallach delivered performances that modern critics consider superb. Many critics regard Gable's performance as his finest, and Gable, after seeing the rough cuts, agreed. John Huston was nominated as Best Director by the Directors Guild of America. Monroe received the 1961 Golden Globe Award as "World Film Favorite" in March 1962, five months before her death.
At Marilyn Monroe's funeral, her mentor Lee Strasberg eulogized the beloved star, beginning with these words: "Marilyn Monroe was a legend. In her own lifetime she created a myth of what a poor girl from a deprived background could attain. For the entire world she became a symbol of the eternal feminine." He went on to describe Marilyn as "a warm human being, impulsive and shy, sensitive and in fear of rejection, yet ever avid for life and reaching out for fulfillment.... She had a luminous quality – a combination of wistfulness, radiance, yearning – to set her apart and yet make everyone wish to be a part of it, to share in the childish naivete which was so shy and yet so vibrant." She was "a sensitive artist and a woman who brought joy and pleasure to the world."
De Frange's candid portrait captures Marilyn's complex inner life better than her more sultry studio poses. No Marilyn Monroe fan collection of memorabilia would be complete without this painting of the ever-beautiful Marilyn with an enigmatic Mona Lisa smile.
Anthony De Frange
American Realist Portrait Painter
Born: March 31, 1923 — Krebs, Oklahoma
Died: September 27, 1983 — Solon, Ohio
Sometimes known as Tony De Frange or A. DeFrange, Anthony De Frange was a skilled realist figure painter in San Francisco who specialized in portraits of celebrities and homo-erotic art. A member of the San Francisco Gay Community during the 60's and 70's, he was the first gay artist to have his gay art publicly shown in a San Francisco gallery. His work was shown at the Geary Gallery and in many venues including the cover of "California Scene." His paintings are currently in the collection of the Leslie/Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York. Among the owners of his paintings were Mae West, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. His work includes portraits of Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Tyrone Power, Alan Ladd, Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Jean Harlow, Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Jeanette MacDonald, Johnny Mathis, John F. Kennedy, Alan Bates, and more..... For more information, please see the Anthony De Frange Facebook page and website.
A listed American artist, De Frange's painting of Bette Davis in "Now Voyager" sold at auction for $5, 000 in 2014, and his portrait of a mature Joan Crawford sold for $4, 000 in 2017. In 1970, legendary actress Mae West purchased his portrait of herself as she appeared in the film "Myra Breckinridge", and paid De Frange $2, 500 for it, which today is equivalent to over $16, 000, adjusted for inflation.
"I always enjoyed painting movie stars. I have a fascination for them."
-- Anthony De Frange