Ms America is one of fifteen paintings by Robert Indiana that takes the actress Marilyn Monroe as its subject. The image in the painting, based on the actress’s nude photograph in the 1955 Golden Dreams calendar, is the same one the appears in all but one of Indiana’s Marilyn-themed works. Here, however, she is partially covered in the red and white stripes of the American flag, emphasizing her role as an American icon. While her rise to Hollywood star allowed her to achieve the American Dream, success was accompanied by depression, addiction, and an early death, drawing attention to the dark side of the Dream.
