Getty Images Gallery

If you ever wondered what happened to all the photos that were taken a century ago you should come here and take a look.
Monroe and Hepburn are only a little peace of the famous faces’ collection the gallery owns.
Don’t you ever wanted to have an authentic piece of history? The Gallery offers beautiful, affordable photographs, hand-​printed in their darkrooms.
They have a unique collection of images covering the beginning of photography in the 1850’s to the most relevant images available today.
This month there’s an exhibition themed ‘Big is Beautiful’ with photography worth seeing.

I recently visited the Gallery to see the Marilyn Monroe exhibition on show at the moment and wasn’t disappointed. Although it was busy, mostly full of tourists, and the space is fairly small, you were still able to look for however long you needed /​wanted and enjoy the photos; books and dressed on display.
I would definitely return for future exhibitions and its location felt like a tranquil haven of calm although it is only a road away from the mayhem of Oxford Circus!

A great space that is home to gorgeous photography exhibits. This month features Marilyn, photos and clothing of one of Hollywood’s most gorgeous, tragic stars.
I love to sew so I was completed engrossed by the costumes and dresses Getty has displayed. Some of the photos are very telling of the person Marilyn was. One photo in particular shows her stressed from a wardrobe malfunction before she is due to go out to perform.
The gallery never got too full while I was there (Wednesday, late morning). I was able to take my time and never felt rush.
I definitely will go back and check out their future exhibits.

Marilyn
When people ask me who my favourite movie stars are, I usually bore them with a roll call of old Hollywood royalty. Top of the pile for me in the glamour and enduring intrigue stakes is Ms Marilyn Monroe.
Aside from her obvious beauty, her acting ability, which was surprisingly good, particularly in her comedic roles, her vulnerability and ultimately tragically early death have captivated me into always wanting to know just that little bit more about her.
I got the chance to do this when I visited the Getty Images Gallery, who have pulled together a stunning collection of unseen Marilyn photographs, which mark her transition from cover girl to movie star, with a few candid ‘private’ shots also included.
The collection is complimented by a small, but significant selection of original dresses and costumes worn by Marilyn, which were lent to the Gallery by collector David Gainsborough Roberts, owner of the largest collection of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia in the world.
What struck me about the pictures was the fluidity of Marilyn’s face, throughout the various images. In the shutter of a photographers’ lens, her face could transform from girl next door to a sexy siren or just possess a stunning, haunted vulnerability which when faced head on, manages to draw you in.
The dresses and costumes are stunning, each accompanied by white information tablets, detailing their designers, fabrics, and appearances either in her movies or as part of her public or private wardrobes.
I was surprised to find that after years of speculation about Marilyn’s size, looking at the mannequins, she couldn’t have been any bigger than a UK10/​12.
Close up the detail on the dresses and costumes is staggering — beautfully tailored, intricate beading, sculputured corsets and waistlines. Everything looked so contemporary in design and is so wonderfully preserved that they wouldn’t look out of place on a modern day movie starlet.
My favourites were the show stopping red dress from ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ and a gorgeous raspberry halterneck linen dress from the opening sequence of the movie that made her a star ‘Niagara’. Fashion dynamite !!!
I left the exhibition feeling I knew Marilyn a little better. She was an old school ’ feisty dame’, who was bright and clever (check out the picture of her on the day bed reading a pretty hardcore book of poems!), had a wicked sense of humour and spirit; qualities that I think somehow, had been lost amid the numerous myths, conspiracy theories and jumbled retellings of her life and death.
I highly recommend you go and see it !!!
Marilyn runs until 23^rd May at the Getty Images Gallery
Admission is free.

It sounded like an interesting cultural exhibit, but I was sadly disappointed because it was closed when I arrived at 12:30 PM on Saturday. The sign on the door clearly said 12:00 to 5:30 but there was no one there and the door was locked.
I guess I’ll have to come back.
Tip: Call ahead.

Lovely small gallery. As with other reviews great photos from 1920’s to 1980’s. Well displayed and a great place to pass the time in town.

I went to a She Says event at this gallery and thought it was stunning. The images are some of the most iconic and they had a fantastic flat panel TV we were able to see the awards entries on. This gallery is stunning and a very fashionable venue for any corporate event.

Great little gem of a photography gallery… of especial interest for anyone with a fascination for old-​time movie stars (Marilyn, Audrey, Sinatra…). The bulk of their for-​sale collection centers around unique images of these glamorous former stars of the silver screen — along with a few token pics of royalty and sports gods.
But it’s not *just* for celebrity hounds… they also have exhibitions that are a little more original and astute… Getty’s vast collection of photographs generally highlight moments that reflect a zeitgeist… unique frozen images that encapsulate a thought, a mood, and idea, a time… Not every picture is stellar, but as a collective, the exhibitions generally convey something interesting… a point that is built on realism and details — cool.
The gallery itself is quite small, and very minimalist… all-​white to draw attention to the photos on display. The only one weird thing is that this is also Getty Image’s office of some sort (they do framing and photo orders)… so in the back part of the gallery there are people working at their desks where their core collection is on display… I don’t know how those people concentrate with all the clientele poking around them, trying to get a better look at all those pictures of Ms. Marilyn.

I stumbled upon this small photographic gallery today while grabbing a sandwich in the maze of little streets north of Oxford Circus. The current free exhibition is sponsored by Time Out and is called ‘London through a Lens’. It documents both ordinary and extraordinary life in the capital in the 20^th century. I was captivated by many of the photos on show and will definitely be looking out for the next show on here.

I often make a quick stop at this little photographic gallery when I have a spare moment. Getty is one of the biggest photography agencies at the moment resulting in it owning the rights to a lot of the best press photography out there. This is foremost a commercial gallery and all of the prints are on sale. The themes of the shows vary from exhibition to exhibition, but they are usually based around photojournalism.
The current show, ‘London Through a Lens’ includes a series of black & white prints from different photographers taken in London during this past century. The images are interesting and emanate a feeling of nostalgia, but the images are not striking enough to leave a lasting imprint. The show is on until November 22^nd.

This gallery is the outlet for Getty Images’ famous range of independent photography. It’s medium-​sized, not far from Oxford Circus, and displays many iconic B&W images on clean white walls.
You can, of course, purchase prints of any and all, with frames if you want them.
I was in yesterday for their temporary exhibition on London photography (
) (really excellent, and will be back from 29 October to 22 November).