“Remember, Bernie, you started it all.”

She’s 26 feet tall and forever Marilyn. Seward Johnson’s sculpture in downtown Palm Springs was inspired by photographer Bruno Bernard, best known as “Bernard of Hollywood.” Bernard’s famous photograph of Marilyn Monroe, titled “Marilyn in White” captures her in her wind-blown dress from the movie The Seven Year Itch”. The photo was selected as the “Symbol of the Century” by the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Bernard first photographed Marilyn at the Racquet Club in Palm Springs in 1947 when she was still Norma Jeane.

Her towering presence can be enjoyed in front of the Palm Springs Art Museum, where I captured this portrait.