Paul McCartney donates Linda McCartney photographs to Glasgow Museums
Paul McCartney has donated a set of limited edition photographs by his late wife Linda McCartney to Glasgow Museums. Linda’s Pictures comprises 14 photographs, three of which were taken in Scotland. The collection includes portraits of superstar musicians from her early career, as well as intimate and humorous McCartney family photographs taken throughout the 1970s. The images by the former US female photographer of the year will be available to view on request at Glasgow Museums Resource Centre.
The Linda McCartney Retrospective, which is curated by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney, is currently on show for the first time in the UK at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. It runs until 12 January 2020. Themes of the exhibition include The Sixties, Family Life, Self Portraits, Animals and Nature, People & Places, Making the Magic, and Scotland.
The gift of works are published in an edition of 150. Many of the people she photographed were and went on to become influential global cultural icons. This set includes images of Mick Jagger and Brian Jones from her first professional photo shoot, complemented by cherished snapshots of her growing family and love of animals, nature and ongoing interest in recording the world around her.
Councillor David McDonald, Chair of Glasgow Life and Deputy Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: ‘The Linda McCartney Retrospective at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum has been very warmly received. We were delighted to be the first venue in the UK to show this exhibition and our greatest thanks go to Sir Paul McCartney for his incredibly generous gift. This wonderful addition to our collection ensures visitors to Glasgow Museums can continue to engage with and enjoy Linda McCartney’s stunning work for generations to come.’
Linda McCartney became a professional photographer in the mid-1960s, known for her portraits of Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, among many others. In 1968 she was the first female photographer whose work was featured as the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, with a portrait of Eric Clapton. In 1974, when Linda and Paul appeared on Rolling Stone’s cover, she became the first person to have been photographed and taken a photo for the cover of the magazine: a neat reflection of Linda’s life both in front of and behind the lens.
Following her marriage to Paul McCartney in 1969, Linda’s photographs became more intimate and emotional, exploring the natural world, family life and social commentary. Linda McCartney continued to work prolifically as a photographer until her death from breast cancer in 1998. Her work has been exhibited by institutions including the International Center of Photography in New York, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Fiona Hayes, curator of social history with Glasgow Museums, said: ‘Linda McCartney was a talented photographer who showed a real flair for capturing popular culture in the 1960s and the huge changes in attitude, dress and lifestyle that followed. She was at the very heart of these changes and her easy, creative, artistic style of photography perfectly reflected this time.’