Marilyn negatives to be auctioned with copyright

LONDON

A photographic archive of 75,000 negatives and transparencies by the fashion and celebrity photographer Milton Greene, including around 3,700 unpublished images of Marilyn Monroe, is due to be sold at auction – all with copyright, according to the Artnewspaper.com.

“The fact that the copyright is being sold is unheard of,” says Joe Maddalena, the head of the Los Angeles auction house Profiles in History, which is selling the archive on July 27, reported Artnewspaper.com.

Greene is best known for his photographs of Monroe. The actress and photographer were close friends, and Monroe lived in the Greene household for a year before her marriage to the playwright Arthur Miller in 1956. “Because of his access to her, he was able to photograph her in a way no one else could,” Maddalena says. “Ninety-nine percent [of the images for sale] are unpublished.”

The inclusion of the copyright is a potential boon for any buyer, who could create a new market by printing and selling limited edition prints.