Palm Springs: Will the Marilyn sculpture stay or go?

Marilyn Monroe can’t seem to say goodbye to Palm Springs. The 26-foot “Forever Marilyn” statue slated to leave sometime in September will remain in place until mid-November before shoving off for New Jersey, a city tourism site announced.

This is the second extension for the “Forever Marilyn” statue by Seward Johnson, which arrived in May 2012.

“The online posts, the many emails, events and celebrations, all have shown the [Sculpture] Foundation and artist Seward Johnson how a community can be inventive and enhance the experience of public art,” foundation director Paula Stoeke said in a statement from PS-Resorts.com.

READ MORE: Seward Johnson, the ubiquitous sculptor you’ve probably never heard of

The desert town’s love affair with the sculpture began after it arrived for a year’s visit at Palm Canyon Drive and Tahquitz Canyon. Since then, “Marilyn” has stuck around for a celebration marking what would have been the actress’ 86th birthday on June 1, numerous film screenings and other events.

The artwork on loan from the Santa Monica-based foundation will travel to the 42-acre Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, N.J., where a lifetime retrospective is planned for Johnson next year, the announcement says.

But could the sculpture somehow stay in Palm Springs, well, “forever”? It’s not without precedent.

Johnson also created the “Unconditional Surrender” sculpture memorializing the end of World War II — the famous pose of the sailor and nurse kissing — that was loaned to San Diego from 2007 to 2012.

The statue was such a hit that the USS Midway Museum and a local architect raised more than $1 million to have a bronze copy made to replace the original at Tuna Harbor Park in the city’s port. It was installed in February.

Mary.Forgione@latimes.com
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