Guy Hepner Gallery

Tyler Shields Marilyn Monroe For Sale

Tyler Shields
Tyler Shields - Marilyn Monroe, 2015, Digital c print

Marilyn Monroe, 2015

Digital c print

18 x 18 Inches 30 x 30 Inches 45 x 45 Inches 60 x 60 inches

Edition

Edition of 3

About this work

Tyler Shields' Marilyn Monroe (2015) is a digital C-print from the Historical Fiction series, issued as an edition of 3 and available in four sizes from 18 × 18 to 60 × 60 inches. One of the artist's most charged engagements with the mythology of twentieth-century celebrity, the work inhabits the visual and cultural legacy of Marilyn Monroe—the most photographed woman of her era and an enduring symbol of beauty, vulnerability, and the complex machinery of fame. In this image, Shields does not attempt mere imitation or tribute but engages with the Monroe mythology on his own terms—using the subject's visual codes as raw material for an image that is unmistakably his own. The Historical Fiction series provides the ideal conceptual framework: Shields is interested not in historical accuracy but in the emotional and cultural truth of an icon, reimagined through a contemporary photographic sensibility that brings new urgency to familiar imagery. Marilyn Monroe is among the most significant works in the Historical Fiction series—an image that takes on one of the most iconographically laden subjects in art history and finds, through Shields' distinctive vision, something genuinely new to say. For collectors of the series, it is an indispensable work, and a compelling demonstration of the artist's capacity to engage with cultural mythology on both an emotional and a formal level. The Historical Fiction series is widely regarded as one of Shields' most inventive and narratively ambitious projects, drawing collectors who are drawn to photography that operates simultaneously as visual art, cultural commentary, and storytelling.

Price on Application

Auction History

Tyler Shields

· Tyler Shields · Sotheby's · 2016-05 · $18,338

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Marilyn Monroe

About Tyler Shields

Tyler Shields was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and began his creative career as a professional inline skater, competing in the X Games and touring with Tony Hawk before shifting his focus to photography. His early photographs gained attention online, and a chance viral image helped launch his career as a photographer working within the Hollywood entertainment world.

Shields is known for bold, provocative photography that blends glamour with elements of tension, danger, and destruction, often incorporating rich color, dramatic lighting, and meticulously staged scenes. His work frequently explores contrasts between beauty and chaos, using striking visual concepts, from vivid color explosions to scenes built around luxury objects, to create images that are both polished and unsettling. He has photographed a wide range of actors and public figures throughout his career, always aiming for a cinematic, tightly composed final image captured in camera rather than through digital manipulation.

Beyond photography, Shields has worked as a filmmaker, screenwriter, and author, publishing both photography books and fiction. His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in private and public collections, and he continues to be based in Los Angeles.

Guy Hepner works with collectors seeking Tyler Shields's bold, cinematic photography. Contact us to discuss available inventory or to inquire about upcoming releases.

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