In the summer of 1949, a 23-year-old Marilyn Monroe spent a day on Tobay Beach, Long Island, in front of the camera of photographer André de Dienes. She had a handful of small film roles to her name, but wide fame had not yet arrived. That day on the beach, however, produced photographs that would help change everything.
An unexpected storm had swept through earlier that day, clearing the beach of nearly all visitors. De Dienes and Monroe had the shoreline almost entirely to themselves. The empty stretch of sand gave them room to work freely, and the overcast light after the storm created ideal conditions for the shoot.
Monroe wore a simple swimsuit in several shots, the fabric hugging her figure as the wind came off the water. In others, she changed into a white blouse and skirt, her hair blown loosely around her face. De Dienes moved between playful and more quiet, reflective setups throughout the session.
De Dienes had worked with Monroe before and had a strong sense of how to photograph her. He let her laugh, spin, and gaze out at the ocean rather than holding rigid poses. The results felt unguarded — closer to candid than staged, even when they were carefully framed.
Monroe was fully at ease on the sand. The wind, the surf, and the open sky suited her energy that day. De Dienes captured expressions that ranged from wide, open smiles to quieter, more direct looks into the lens — the full range of what she could project in front of a camera.
The photographs taken that day were published in magazines and newspapers across the country not long after. They reached a wide audience at precisely the moment Monroe’s career was beginning to accelerate. The Tobay Beach session became one of the most recognized sets of images from her early years.
André de Dienes shot Monroe multiple times over the years, but the Long Island beach sessions hold a distinct place in that body of work. At 23, Monroe was still building toward stardom, and these images document that specific moment — young, confident, and squarely on the edge of becoming a household name.
