Silver gelatin print by Camera Press/L'Europeo. Printed Caption on verso reads: "U.S. Film Stars: ELIZABETH TAYLOR. Reports that scenes of Elizabeth Taylor in the nude were shot for the film 'Cleopatra' brought criticism from some quarters. This picture shows that such shots were made".

The legend of the ancient Egyptian Queen Cleopatra (69–30 BCE) has been the subject of art, books and film.

Elizabeth Taylor’s performance in the 1963 Hollywood film Cleopatra coincided with an affair with co-actor Richard Burton, which sparked moral condemnation and sensationalism in the press. This blending of on-screen and off-screen romance led to magazines drawing equivalence between Taylor and Cleopatra as ‘glamour’ girls.

The picture agency, Camera Press was founded in 1947. The celebrity of Elizabeth Taylor and her contemporaries was powered by images provided by photographic agencies, which generated celebrity status and beauty standards in the pre-digital age.