"The Last Sitting"

February 25 2008 New York cover

In 1962, photographer Bert Stern shot a series of photos of Marilyn Monroe that have collectively come to be known as “The Last Sitting.” Taken during several boozy sessions at the Hotel Bel-Air, the photographs are arguably the most famous images ever captured of America’s most famous actress: Monroe, sleepy-eyed and naked, sips from a Champagne glass, enacts a fan dance of sorts with various diaphanous scarves, romps with erotic playfulness on a bed of white linens. Six weeks after she had posed, Monroe was found dead of an apparent barbiturate overdose.

In New York Magazine's current Spring Fashion issue, Lindsay Lohan is reborn as Marilyn Monroe, posing for photographer Bert Stern as Monroe did in 1962 for a sessions that became known as "The Last Sitting." But many of you probably knew that already. And many of you have already seen the pictures. So because the session is historic and beautiful, we're pleased to share five outtakes that did not appear in the magazine. We're particularly fond of the photo shown above, which might be the most Marilyn-esque of all. (Photos)