Marilyn Monroe, actress, New York City, May 1957

There is no such person as Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Monroe was an invention of hers. A genius invention that she created like an author creates a character. So when Marilyn Monroe put on a sequin dress and danced in the studio. I mean, for hours she danced, and sang, and flirted, and did this thing. There is no describing what she did. She did Marilyn Monroe. And then there was the inevitable drop because she was someone who went very high up and went way, way down. And when that night was over she sat in the corner like a child with everything gone. But I wouldn't photograph her without her knowledge of it. And as I came with the camera, I saw that she was not saying, 'No'.
RICHARD AVEDON