Candid photos of Marilyn Monroe swimming naked are set to go under the hammer for £26,000
The 12 intimate snaps are to be sold in New York and show the Hollywood starlet posing next to a swimming pool
RARE pictures showing a naked Marilyn Monroe posing next to a swimming pool and celebrating her birthday are set to fetch up to £26,000 at auction.
The 12 intimate shots show the Hollywood starlet kneeling down in the water and strategically covering her famous curves with a towel.
Other striking images also feature Marilyn lounging on a sofa as well as being presented with a birthday cake full of sparklers.
The impressive array of shots, believed to have been taken shortly before her death in August 1962, are to go under the hammer next week at Heritage Auctions in New York.
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And the complete lot, which is worth over £90,000 in total, also features rarely seen pictures of the likes of the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Muhammad Ali.
The picture of the rat-pack crooner shows him at his peak of fame striding through crowds surrounded by bodyguards at the Foundtainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.
While two alternatives to The Beatles legendary Abbey Road cover where the famous four strutted over a zebra crossing, are estimated to be worth £18,000.
Nigel Russel, Director of Photographs for Heritage Auction, said: "On August 8, 1969, The Beatles arrived at Abbey Road Studios for the crosswalk photo-shoot that would soon take place just outside the building.
"At approximately 11.30 am on this sunny day, a willing London policeman was asked to hold up and direct traffic on the busy Abbey Road.
"Iain Macmillan then positioned a step-ladder in the middle of the road, just feet away from the pedestrian crossing, hastily climbed the ladder, quickly steadied himself, and prepared to take the photographs.
"As The Beatles crossed Abbey Road several times, Iain Macmillan was able to snap six quick shots within a 10-minute timeframe."
The striking array of celebrity images will be available October 11 in Heritage Auctions' Photographs Auction in New York.
Previously, we brought you pictures from inside the secluded Hollywood mansion where Marilyn was found dead as it sells for £5.62million.
We also told you how a crackpot conspiracy theory claimed that she was murdered because she knew that aliens existed.