Forever Marilyn by Seward Johnson, Palm Springs

Framed by palms and the rocky mountains behind downtown Palm Springs, Forever Marilyn turns a familiar Hollywood image into an encounter at street level. Seward Johnson’s monumental sculpture holds Marilyn Monroe in the white-dress pose associated with The Seven Year Itch. The setting in Mark’s October 20, 2026 photographs is Downtown Park, where the sculpture now stands following its 2025 relocation from Museum Way.

A movie image, made monumental

PS Resorts identifies the sculpture’s source as a photograph by Bernard of Hollywood made on the set of The Seven Year Itch. The dress, raised face and carefully modeled expression make the image immediately recognizable. At the 26-foot height reported by PS Resorts, it is large enough for the folds of fabric to become a landscape of their own.

The Seward Johnson Atelier dates the monumental version to 2011 and lists its materials as cast aluminum with stainless steel. It also catalogs an earlier, smaller bronze version from 1996. Those are different versions of the work; the large outdoor sculpture photographed here is not a life-size bronze.

Johnson placed the work in his Icons Revisited series. PS Resorts describes that series as an exploration of images that persist beyond their original moment and take on a larger cultural life. Here, a fleeting movie image becomes something you can walk around, see against a changing sky and share a public space with.

What to notice

• The suggestion of movement: the dress appears to lift in a gust, although the sculpture remains still. Trace the folds from the waist toward its broad, sweeping edge.
• The finish: compare the pale dress and skin with the glossy red lips. The closer photograph makes those changes in surface easier to see.
• The scale: look from the shoes and circular base upward, then step back to include the palms. The grove gives the figure a different sense of proportion.
• The setting: in the wider photograph, the mountain ridge runs behind Monroe’s upper body. Palm trunks, shadows and open sky make this unmistakably a desert view of a Hollywood image.

About Seward Johnson

Seward Johnson built his practice around figurative sculpture, from everyday people to enlarged cultural images. He founded the Johnson Atelier Technical Institute of Sculpture in 1974 and Grounds For Sculpture in New Jersey in 1992. His interest in placing sculpture within a landscape is especially relevant here: seeing this work outdoors is part of the experience, not simply a substitute for seeing it in a gallery.

Its Palm Springs story

According to PS Resorts, Forever Marilyn first arrived in Palm Springs in May 2012 and stayed until March 2014. It returned on June 20, 2021, becoming a prominent presence on Museum Way near the Palm Springs Art Museum.

The placement also prompted a long-running dispute. In August 2024, the City announced a settlement with the Committee to Relocate Marilyn and a plan to move the sculpture into Downtown Park. The City’s subsequent relocation filing identifies the park location north of Museum Way and west of Belardo Road. By June 2025, a community celebration marked the sculpture’s new location. Mark’s photographs document it among the palms in October 2026.

Where to find it today

Head to Palm Springs Downtown Park, near Museum Way and Belardo Road. Look within the palm grove rather than expecting the sculpture in its former position in the roadway. The park is beside the Palm Springs Art Museum and a short walk from Palm Canyon Drive.

This is an outdoor public-art stop that fits naturally into a downtown walk. Allow time to move around the figure and see how the background changes. Use the park’s paths, leave room for other visitors and enjoy the sculpture without climbing on it. For photographs, choose your angle before stepping into someone else’s frame; the palms offer several ways to include the setting.

The map link uses Downtown Park as the arrival area. Follow the park paths to the sculpture; it is not a parking-space or surveyed pedestal pin.

Make it part of a downtown walk

Continue to jd hansen’s Resonance near the Kimpton Rowan, or explore the restored Plaza Theatre. For the history beneath today’s downtown, read Nellie Coffman and the Desert Inn: Downtown Park occupies part of the former inn’s grounds.

Browse the downtown Palm Springs guide for the surrounding area and Art & Artists for more creative stories.

Through Mark’s lens

Both photographs were made by Mark Miller on October 20, 2026. The first shows the complete sculpture within the palm grove; the second concentrates on the expression, hair and billowing dress. Select either image in the gallery to view it full screen.