Portrait Of An Icon-Marilyn Monroe

Portrait Of An Icon: Never Before Seen Images of Injured Marilyn Monroe Taken on Set of River Of No Return [Via-Link ]

Sporting a broken ankle and crutches, only Marilyn Monroe could make a leg injury look stylish. The actress posed for the shot on set of the River Of No Return in 1953, wearing a black bikini and one high heel. But she braves the pain and flashes one of her iconic smiles.

Bikini, high heel and crutches: Marilyn Monroe, pictured in Banff, Alberta in 1953, off-duty on location of River of No Return. Read more after the break.......

The actress had to take time off shooting the movie after injuring her ankle

These are the pictures of Miss Monroe that were taken for Look magazine in 1953. But only three from the album made it into the final edition. The remaining negatives, taken by photographer John Vachon in the Canadian Rockies, have been hidden away until now.

The images were taken by John Vac hon, who had the rare opportunity to capture her over several days

The actress looks stylish in cream top and pencil skirt as she poses by the Banff sign in the Canadian Rockies

A new book entitled August 1953: The Lost LOOK Photos includes 100 shots as well as essays and personal letters from the photographer. Vachon was given a rare opportunity to photograph the blonde bombshell, who died in 1962, off-duty as she took a few days off due to the injury. One of the shots of her boyfriend, baseball player Joe DiMaggio is the only time the pair posed for a formal portrait.

The 100 pictures form part of a coffee table book entitled August 1953: The Lost LOOK Photos

Only three of the intimate portraits made it into the original Look magazine article, the rest were hidden away

The Western sees actor Robert Mitchum starring alongside Monroe, who plays a dance hall singer. During filming, director Otto Preminger reportedly had to deal with the actor's heavy drinking. In one of the letters Vachon writes to his wife, he refers to Mitchum as an 'unmitigated jerk'. Many of the original negatives of Vachon's photographs were damaged, so each of the black-and-white images in the book was digitally restored. Imperfections were removed and tones were carefully calibrated.

Marilyn shares a moment with her husband-to-be, baseball player Joe DiMaggio, who she was married to for 9 months

Vachon captured Marilyn looking vulnerable when she was used to being seen as a blonde bombshell

Chris Kuppig, the President of Dover Publications said: 'We were working with photo researcher Amy Pastan on another project when she tipped us about a set of rare Marilyn Monroe photographs by Vachon. 'Only three of Vachon's Marilyn photos were used in the October 20, 1953, article about location shooting in Canada. 'The rest have remained unpublished since then. We were bowled over. Here was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give the legions of Marilyn fans worldwide a rarely seen portrait of their idol.'

When Marilyn sprained her ankle, she reportedly insisted on a cast and refused to work for a week

Monroe demonstrates her ability to change expression and moods while posing