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Marilyn Backstage, 1953, 2015-06-27 By Russell Spencer (RS2206) Acrylic on Canvas, 765 x 762 mm Contact Russell Look at large version Look at progress pictures Over about a two year period I started to paint Marilyn five or six times, but abandoned the efforts because I wasn't happy with the approach. Here I have finally finished one. The source is a photo snapped backstage at the Jack Benny TV show in 1953, as Marilyn waits to go on and prays, presumably, for a success. I love it because the glamour, the shining figure against a dark background, the prayerful attitude, and the fact that it is Marilyn, all contribute to its feeling like a devotional image or icon. I'm happy with this painting but a little disappointed that the face is not quite as sincerely and endearingly prayerful as I'd hoped to make it.