The Seven Year Itch

One of Monroe’s most successful roles was as The Girl in director Billy Wilder’s The Seven Year Itch , a comedy about a restless husband left to his own devices for the summer. To market the film, photographer Sam Shaw proposed the indelible subway grate moment, which dozens of publicity photographers attended on location in New York City. Due to sound issues, the real scene was shot on the 20th Century-Fox lot in Los Angeles. Outside of this iconic scene, the exhibition Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon also features silk pajamas worn during a pivotal moment in developing Monroe’s girl-next-door character.