the last ever professional photos of marilyn monroe taken just weeks before her untimely death have emerged for sale for a staggering $36,000 the six poignant pictures of the screen siren were taken by close friend george barris on july 13, 1962, destined for a book about monroe just three weeks later monroe was found dead   making barris's pictures of the world's biggest star hugely valuable yet new york native barris was devastated by the loss of his friend, and scrapped plans for the book he also refused to allow the images, the last professional shots ever to be taken of monroe, to be published for several years afterwards the last kiss: this appears to be the final picture taken by a professional photographer of marilyn monroe, shot by close friend george barris on a beach in santa monica on july 13, 1962  collectibles: this collection of six pictures by barris are going up for auction next week  comfortable: the two had become good friends   which shows clearly in the relaxed shots taken by barris  the set of six original prints have now come up for sale, and experts are predicting they could fetch as much as $6,000 each   around £4,000 the intimate shots appear to show just how comfortable monroe was with her friend of seven years barris had first met monroe on the set of her film the seven year itch in 1954 'when i first saw her i thought she was the most beautiful, fantastic person i'd ever met,' barris told the los angeles daily news in 2012, ahead of an exhibition to mark what would have been the film star's 86th birthday 'she completely knocked me off my feet' the two remained firm friend barris told the huffington post: 'what i particularly liked about marilyn was that she didn't act like a movie star 'i was most impressed that marilyn was always polite and friendly to everyone on the set she was no phony or snob' barris revealed to the daily news that the final shot he ever took of monroe was on the beach, wrapped in a blanket 'she puckered up and said, `this is just for you, george,' and blew a kiss to me that's the last picture i took of her,' he said a print of that picture among the six on sale, along with a two more from the beach in santa monica, while two are taken inside a house in hollywood compilation: barris had planned to include the pictures in a book about monroe he was putting together  grief: but barris scrapped plans for the book, and refused to publish the pictures for years after her death  devastated: after her death, barris moved to paris, where he lived for the next 20 years  memories: barris finally published the book, which he started working on in 1962, in 2012  also on sale are six signed shots from the iconic photoshoot of monroe taken by fellow photographer bert stern in late june 1962 for vogue magazine stern's images would become known as 'the last sitting'   despite barris's pictures being taken later on the black and white stern shots, which include one of a sultry monroe naked on a bed, are also expected to make anything between $3,500 and $8,000 each (about £2,300 to £5,200) both collections are being sold by heritage auctions in dallas, texas, on behalf of two private collectors iconic: six pictures for bert stern's last sitting collection for vogue are also on sale at auction  stunning: this particular print   signed by photographer stern   is expected to fetch $8,000  ironic: stern's pictures became known as the last sitting, despite monroe posing for barris later  rachel peart, director of photographs at heritage new york, said: 'bert stern did a shoot with marilyn monroe for vogue magazine in june 1962 which everyone refers to as 'the last sitting'   her last ever studio photos 'the images he took became very iconic marilyn was the biggest star in the world at the time and stern's photos were very glamorous 'what is less well known is that another photographer, george barris, took a series of intimate pictures of marilyn a few weeks after bert stern's shoot   so those are technically the last ever studio shots of her' glamorous: this photograph   titled feeling good   is expected to make as much as $3,500  legendary: the stern shots form an important part of the monroe tale and are likely to be highly sought after  sale: the auction of prints like this one, signed by stern, takes place between march 10 and march 15  pearl added: 'all the pictures we are selling are authentic, genuine prints made by and signed by the photographers, many within five years of the originals being taken 'marilyn monroe transcends generations and appeals to a wide range of collectors she is timeless and market for marilyn memorabilia is very strong 'because marilyn was so iconic a lot of people took photos of her, however these photos are among the best and most rare out there' the online auction will be spread over six days, from march 10 and march 15
george barris monroe hollywood barris around $6,000 the last sitting
taken by friend and celebrity photographer george barris in july 1962 . monroe was found dead at her hollywood home just three weeks later . devastated barris refused to publish pictures for years afterwards . the six prints, signed by barris, are expected to fetch around $6,000 each . collection of iconic prints known as the last sitting also on sale next week 