A treasure trove of visual memories from the height of The Beatles’ fame comes to New York in the form of a personal photo collection taken by Paul McCartney 60 years ago.
McCartney, who was an amateur photographer before achieving incredible fame, took the photos that will be on display between December 1963 and February 1964, when The Beatles were taking America by storm.
The 81-year-old rocker told the New York Times that for years he thought “the photos were lost.”
‘In the 1960s that was quite simple. The doors were often left open. We would invite fans.” he said, recounting a moment when he came across a stolen lyric sheet for ‘Yesterday’ on display at the British Library.
The exhibition, which will be on view at the Brooklyn Museum from May 3 to August 18 of this year, is called ‘Paul McCartney photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm.’
Self-portrait. London, 1963. Pigmented inkjet print. © 1963 Paul McCartney under exclusive license from MPL Archive LLP
John and George. Paris, January 1964. Pigmented inkjet print. © 1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive license from MPL Archive LLP
The photos take viewers through a whirlwind tour the band embarked on, which spanned six cities, starting in Liverpool and England, and culminating in Miami.
According to the Times, photos from the British leg of the tour are displayed in small “walnut frames, signaling that Britain was still in the grip of a post-war recession.”
Once The Beatles and Paul’s camera reaches America, the images become more playful and even colorful when they reach the beaches of Miami.
McCartney describes his photographs as ‘radiating a certain innocence.’
“I think it was a lot more fun than it was. We worked probably 360 days a year,” he said.
The Brooklyn Museum describes the collection as one that takes the viewer “into the madness of Beatlemania in 1963-64, when the band’s first American tour made them a superstar.”
The collection contains more than 250 of McCartney’s personal photographs, recently rediscovered after being lost for more than half a century.
The exhibition, currently on view at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, will also include “video clips and archival material. The photographs not only showcase McCartney’s artistic versatility, but also serve as a personal and historical record.”
“The images also evoke a loving family album, depicting McCartney and band members John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr at a time when their lives were irrevocably changed,” the museum wrote.
Ringo Starr. London, January 1964. Pigmented inkjet print. © 1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive license from MPL Archive LLP
George Harrison. Miami Beach, February 1964. Chromogenic print. © 1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive license from MPL Archive LLP
John Lennon. Paris, January 1964. Pigmented inkjet print. © 1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive license from MPL Archive LLP
Photographers in Central Park. New York, February 1964. Pigmented inkjet print. © 1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive license from MPL Archive LLP
Crossing West 58th Street, 6th Avenue. New York, February 1964. Pigmented inkjet print. © 1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive license from MPL Archive LLP
Some photos will go on sale after the exhibition, the Times reports.
McCartney is currently organizing that gallery sale, which he says is “a process I enjoy.”
“I’ve done it a few times with Linda’s work,” referring to his first wife, photographer Linda Eastman.
The exhibition will feature McCartney’s personal thoughts on some of the photographs he took at the height of Beatlemania – before the global sensation became so unstoppably chaotic that the band stopped touring.