Recently rediscovered portraits taken in 60s as Beatles rose to stardom to be focus of exhibition at refurbished NPG
Unseen portraits taken by Paul McCartney in the early 1960s as the Beatles were catapulted to international stardom will go on show at the refurbished National Portrait Gallery in the summer.
McCartney thought the photographs, taken between December 1963 and February 1964, had been lost, but he recently rediscovered them.
The exhibition, Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm, “will provide a uniquely personal perspective on what it was like to be a Beatle at the start of Beatlemania,” said Nicholas Cullinan, the NPG’s director.
“The photographs taken in this period captured the very moment that John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr were propelled from being the most popular band in Britain to an international cultural phenomenon, from gigs in Liverpool and London to performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in New York to a television audience of 73 million people.
“At a time when so many camera lenses were on the band, these photographs will share fresh insight into their experiences, all through the eyes of Sir Paul McCartney.”
The Beatles star approached the NPG in 2020, said Cullinan. “He said he’d found these photographs that he remembers taking but thought had been lost. We sat down with him and began going through them. [It was] extraordinary to see these images – which are unseen – of such a well-documented, famous and important cultural moment.
“They’re taken by someone who was really, as the exhibition title alludes, in the eye of the storm looking outside at what was happening.”
McCartney plans to publish a book of the photographs to coincide with his 81st birthday in June. The 275 photos in the collection were taken on a 35mm camera in New York, Washington, London, Liverpool, Miami and Paris.
McCartney’s family includes three celebrated photographers. His first wife, Linda McCartney, was the first woman to shoot a Rolling Stone cover. The couple’s daughter Mary McCartney is an acclaimed photographer and film-maker and his brother Mike has published books of images of the Beatles.
Last year, McCartney published The Lyrics, in which he traced his life story through the lyrics of his songs. The book became a bestseller.
Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm will run from 28 June to 1 October 2023.
🟠 PRE-ORDER 1964 EYES OF THE STORM by Paul McCartney, HERE:
USA 🇺🇸: https://amzn.to/3H04LE8 (HARDCOVER) https://amzn.to/3R42r3C (KINDLE EDITION)
UK 🇬🇧: https://amzn.to/3j21ufP (HARDCOVER)
JAPAN 🇯🇵: https://amzn.to/3H9N9FV
GERMANY 🇩🇪: https://amzn.to/3Hv9QWu
FRANCE 🇫🇷: https://amzn.to/3kDNPMm
SPAIN 🇪🇸: https://amzn.to/3DdxzYO
No comments:
Post a Comment