Russell Young MARILYN CRYING (NEW YORK) For Sale

About this work

Russell Young has established himself as one of the most significant contemporary artists working with celebrity imagery and the visual language of Pop Art's legacy. His diamond dust screenprints, which build upon the traditions established by Warhol while forging a distinctly personal vocabulary, have achieved strong placement in major private collections and demonstrated consistent performance on the secondary market. MARILYN CRYING (NEW YORK) belongs to Young's celebrated series exploring the duality of fame through the figure of Marilyn Monroe—specifically focusing on a rarely seen press photograph capturing the actress in a moment of vulnerability during her 1956 press conference announcing her split from Arthur Miller. Where much of Monroe's visual archive presents constructed glamour, Young's selection of this source material reveals the human cost beneath the surface of celebrity. The bondi blue and black palette creates a striking tonal contrast, while the application of diamond dust across the acrylic and enamel surface introduces a luminous quality that shifts with viewing angle and light conditions, embodying the tension between surface allure and emotional depth that defines the work's conceptual framework. Executed in 2013, this piece represents Young at the height of his technical and thematic refinement, demonstrating his characteristic layering process on linen rather than paper—a substrate choice that lends the work both physical presence and archival stability. At 62 by 48 inches, the scale commands significant wall presence while remaining appropriate for discerning residential installations. For acquisition inquiries regarding this work by Russell Young, please contact Guy Hepner directly.