The National Portrait Gallery has been on a roll over the last couple of years, not only opening its swanky new £35 million Blavatnik Wing back in summer 2023, but also curating some truly unmissable temporary exhibitions since, from its fabulous Francis Bacon show in 2025 to last spring’s brilliant offerings on 80s pop culture bible The Face Magazine.
We imagine this summer 2026 exhibition will be another hugely popular one for the Trafalgar Square gallery, as it’s turning the spotlight on one of the twentieth century’s biggest icons. Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait will be a real blockbuster, exploring the legacy of one of Hollywood’s most alluring figures through works by some of the twentieth century’s greatest artists and photographers, including Andy Warhol, Cecil Beaton, Marlene Dumas, Milton Greene and Eve Arnold.
