To most people, Linda McCartney was simply the wife of famed member of The Beatles, Paul McCartney. However, if you were lucky enough to know of her fabulous photography career, as well as her on-the-scene role in the 60′s rock n’ roll scene, the new book entitled ” Linda McCartney: Life in Photographs” is absolute must read. Thirteen years after her unfortunate death, Paul McCartney and their children have gone through her 200, 000+ image archive and narrowed down some of her best work to give an intimate catalogue of her life.
I’ve been completely fascinated by Linda McCartney ever since I learned of her first encounter with the swinging sixties, British rock scene. Pulling a stunt I’m sure I would have attempted if I were alive during 1966, she snuck aboard a yacht on the Hudson River which was housing an event from The Rolling Stones. It was from there that her career began as not only photographed the famous rock n’ rollers of the time, but befriended them! Linda’s daughter Mary McCartney explains “People could confide in her, because she wasn’t a gossip. Hendrix in particular became a bit disenchanted [with photographers] because they always wanted him to ‘perform’ – be all rock and roll – but she was friends with him because she loved his playing, so he didn’t need to be like that with her.”
The photographs featured in the book feature not only rock royalty, but Linda McCartney’s family life at homes in Scotland, London, and Arizona. Mary explains the lengths of her mom’s photography in which the book covers saying People know quite a lot of her Sixties work, but Stella, Dad and I were interested in showing a broader spectrum, as well as those iconic images,” says Mary. “When she got married, she stopped being a jobbing photographer doing all the bands in New York. When she moved to London, she carried on with a very similar style and eye, but her subject changed. She was still photographing the people around her, which were her family and friends.”
As far as the celebrity aspect of her work, individuals included in the portraits are Michael Jackson, Johnny Depp, members of The Doors, Janis Joplin, Willem de Kooning, Tim Buckley, and more! Many of the images which are featured in the book are currently on display in the Phillips de Pury gallery in London!
