Nearly 60 years after The Beatles performed their final concert at Candlestick Park, and after Paul McCartney performed the last concert held there in 2014, Beatlemania is back in the bay. Organized by the National Portrait Gallery in London, presented exclusively in California at the de Young museum, Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm will present over 250 personal photos by Paul McCartney. The perspective is from the unique point of view of a young man in the eye of the Beatlemania hurricane. Video clips, archival materials, and ephemera — including McCartney’s handwritten notebook pages of the lyrics to I Want to Hold Your Hand — provide a rare glimpse into one of the most significant moments in 20th-century culture.
December 1963 through February 1964
In Eyes of the Storm, the period represented is the months during which The Beatles first came to America. McCartney’s images are a silent documentary of the frenzied trips from concert halls and hotels to airports during the intensity of Beatlemania. Behind-the-scene images reveal the quiet and sometimes tranquil world of the band members on their days off. The photographs of the four band members existed as unprinted negatives and contact sheets for 60 years. Rediscovered in the artist’s archive in 2020, these images offer a new insight into the band, their fans, and the early 1960s.
The artist’s life
Paul McCartney has another life as a visual artist outside of his music career. For years he’s actively painted on canvas, so it’s no surprise that his early photography is informed with the same level of care as his other creative pursuits. His photographs have the immediacy of a snapshot, but on closer examination he, took meticulous care to frame his compositions. Unidentified Girl frames a smiling young fan in a head scarf through a car window. The composition feels serene, and a shaft of sunlight illuminates the girl’s gentle face.
Respect for McCartney’s subjects and a spirit of playfulness continues in Photographers in Central Park. Dueling cameras pointing at one another, two at McCartney and one in return, cause the paparazzo on the right to spontaneously grin. McCartney’s approach to street photography was in step with the photographers who embraced documentary-style depictions of American life in the 1960s.
Photographs of crowds appear from a distance, rendering the people with relative anonymity. West 58th Street, crossing 6th Avenue is a view from the rear window of a car with Beatles fans running in the streets after their heroes. McCartney frames the excitement in a bright rectangle of light between two buildings.
Welcoming scenes at Miami Airport shows a crush of people and a sign warning in capital letters, “Do Not Push.” Smiling women in bikinis, police, the media, and enthusiastic faces can be seen in every window and on every ladder and landing waiting for the arrival of the Fab Four.
Bandmates behind the scenes
Traveling together in close quarters allowed McCartney’s lens to catch the other band members when they were not performing. John and George is an unguarded moment captured between John Lennon and George Harrison. John’s face faces forward, eyes in the middle distance, seemingly lost in thought. George is captured in a three-quarter profile about to speak. The deep shadows in the brick doorway frame the figures in light.
“In this exhibition, we glimpse McCartney both behind and in front of the lens, as he bears witness to a pivotal cultural moment through the camera with a keen artistic eye,” Said organizing curator Sally Martin Katz. “From portraiture to landscapes and documentary shots, McCartney demonstrates a deep understanding of the formal styles prevalent in the early 1960’s photography. Throughout the exhibition, nods to New Wave, documentary filmmaking, and photojournalism underscore McCartney’s multifaceted approach to capturing the spirit of the time.”
Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Stormopens March 1 and will be on display through July 6 at the de Young museum in Golden Gate Park.