Miami, June 30 - Norwegian Cruise Line's (NCL) Norwegian Dawn boasts the most expensive art collection at sea featuring original works by the world's greatest Impressionists masters as well as contemporary master, Andy Warhol. Beginning mid-July, guests on Norwegian Dawn will enjoy a new series of Warhol's - the "Marilyn" collection, which features the image of one of America's most well known celebrities, Marilyn Monroe.

NCL will install 10 photo silk-screens of Warhol's "Marilyn," in the landings of the midship staircase on the ship. Like the Impressionist paintings by 20th Century masters Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Vincent van Gogh that adorn Norwegian Dawn's signature Le Bistro restaurant, the "Marilyn" series is on loan from the personal collection of Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, chairman of NCL's parent company, Star Cruises.

"We will continue to rotate pieces from our chairman's collection to provide variety as well as an opportunity for more of our guests to enjoy his vast array of artwork," said Colin Veitch, president and CEO of NCL.

Among the pieces currently on display aboard Norwegian Dawn are images from Warhol's "Flowers," "Sunsets" and "Mao" series. The art from Warhol's "Marilyn" will replace Norwegian Dawn's "Mao" series, acquired just prior to Norwegian Dawn's delivery. The "Mao" series will move to Star Cruises' Asian markets, where it has yet to be viewed.

Andy Warhol is widely considered a founder of the "Pop Art" movement and began his Marilyn series in 1962 following the star's death in August of the same year. The inspiration for his haunting image of Monroe was a cropped publicity photo for the 1952 film "Niagara." The "Marilyn" series is an example of Warhol's shift from oil painting to photo silkscreen, a mechanical process associated with commercial production. Art critics described the shift as a dismissal of the personal expression that previously characterized contemporary painting.

Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line is an international cruise company and industry innovator. NCL is the leader in round-trip seven-day cruising from US and Canadian ports, offering its popular Homeland Cruising program seasonally from Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Orlando (Port Canaveral), San Juan, Seattle and Vancouver, and year round from New York, Miami, Houston and Honolulu. For further information on NCL, agents in the US and Canada may contact NCL at (800) 327-7030; visit NCL's website at www.ncl.com or on AOL at keyword: NCL; or to download high-resolution photography visit www.ncl.com/hires.

# # #

Return to News Index