Marilyn Monroe

London, Dec 09: A collection of eight unseen candid photographs of actress Marilyn Monroe is set to be released, with limited edition prints being distributed to select galleries throughout Britain.

The photographs are not posed, and capture the star in her most private moments- in bed, on a plane and in front of a mirror. Only 495 prints of each photo have been made, making them very exclusive.

The black and white images were taken by photojournalist Eve Arnold, now 94, during her 10-year friendship with the Hollywood superstar.

The behind-the-scenes pictures, showing the "real Monroe", will be released at a Marilyn-themed evening event at the Meller Gallery in Witney, Oxfordshire and will be available only until Christmas.

Arnold said Monroe liked her photographs because they were a "fresh approach" to presenting her.

"She trusted me and she was a joy to photograph. She liked my pictures and was canny enough to realise that they were a fresh approach to presenting her,” the Daily Mail quoted Eve as saying.

"By seeing Marilyn through photographs - the only way most people ever saw her - it may be possible to get some idea of how she saw herself and perhaps to glean some insight into the phenomenon that was Marilyn Monroe," she added. (ANI)