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Brooklyn Museum's Inside Look at The Beatles through Paul McCartney’s Lens
May 6, 2024, 5:32.08 pm ET

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Photo: Paul McCartney.Self-portrait. London, 1963.Pigmented inkjet print. © 1963 Paul McCartney underexclusive
license to MPL Archive LLP

In an immersive installation featuring photography, video clips, and archival materials, Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm, now at the Brooklyn Museum, offers an intimate view of an extraordinary period in music history.


Photo: Paul McCartney. John Lennon. Paris, January 1964.Pigmented inkjet print. Pigmented inkjet print. © 1964
Paul McCartney under exclusive license to MPL Archive LLP

In 2020, a trove of nearly one thousand photographs was rediscovered in Paul McCartney’s archive. Taken on a Pentax 35 mm film camera he acquired in fall 1963, these photographs by McCartney stand as a personal record of his time with The Beatles at a critical moment in the group’s evolution. The musician documented the “eyes of the storm” that was Beatlemania, providing a unique, never-before-seen perspective into the band’s meteoric rise.


Photo: Paul McCartney. West 58th Street, crossing 6th Avenue. New York, February 1964. Pigmented inkjet print.
© 1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive license to MPL Archive LLP

Through his lens, McCartney captured The Beatles’ extraordinary journey, city by city, from Liverpool and London in late 1963 to Paris and then the United States in February 1964. The group’s first of three televised performances on The Ed Sullivan Show was watched by seventy-three million people, transforming The Beatles into global superstars and redefining fame in the modern era.


Photo: Paul McCartney. John and George. Paris, January 1964.
Pigmented inkjet print. © 1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive license to MPL Archive LLP

McCartney’s photographs reveal the intensity of touring and of long days spent in rehearsal, in hotels, and on the road, being followed by the media at every stage. The images evoke an affectionate family album, picturing his fellow band members—John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr—at a time when their lives were changing irrevocably. Where McCartney appears in the photographs, he had handed his camera to a member of The Beatles’ team, enabling us to capture glimpses of him performing onstage or posing for pictures.


Photo: Paul McCartney.Fans, press, and police await The Beatles' arrival at the Plaza Hotel, 5th Avenue,
photographedfrom the car, February 1964. Pigmented inkjet print. © 1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive
license to MPL Archive LLP

“When I look back I think, wow, we did that, and we’re just kids from Liverpool. And here it is in these photographs. Boy, how great does John look? How handsome is George and how cool is Ringo, wearing his funny French hat?” —Paul McCartney

The exhibit offers an inside look at the Beatles told through more than 250 photos, publications, The Ed Sullivan Show and collectors’ items, including a Beatles wig.


Photo: Paul McCartney.George Harrison. Miami Beach, February 1964. Chromogenic print© 1964 Paul McCartney
under exclusive license to MPL Archive LLP

Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm is on exhibit from May 3 to August 18. For more information, visit brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/paul-mccartney



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