Exhibition of Linda McCartney’s photography to go on show at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

A MAJOR retrospective of photography by Linda McCartney will be shown in the UK for the first time at a Glasgow gallery next year.

The Linda McCartney Retrospective, curated by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney, features iconic names and moments in music from the 1960s.

It will also put on display some more intimate and emotional later work by the acclaimed and prolific photographer.

The exhibition will run from 5 July 2019 to 12 January 2020 at the city’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and will also include one of Linda’s diaries from the 1960s, displayed in public for the first time.

Cameras used by Linda and held in her archive will be also be on show, along with Polaroids and Contact Sheets exploring her creativity and use of different techniques.

The McCartney family wanted the extensive contents of Linda’s archives to be accessible to a wider audience.

Sir Paul McCartney said: “Linda would have been so proud of this exhibition being held in Scotland, a country she loved so much and spent so many happy days in.”

Stella McCartney added: “Through these images you meet the real mother I knew. You see her raw and deep talent and passion for her art, photography.

“Ahead of her time on every level this mother of four still held her camera close like a companion, she captures the world around her through her eyes and this can be seen on the walls around the exhibition.

“Her humour, her love of family and nature and her moments framed with a slight surreal edge… Scotland was one of her favourite places on earth, and so many images were taken there. Enjoy her passion and compassion.”

The exhibition was first shown at the Kunst Hausn Wien museum, Vienna and subsequently at The Pavillon Populaire, Montpellier and Daelim Museum, Seoul.

The retrospective includes a number of themes including The Sixties, Family Life, Self Portraits, Observations – Animals and Nature, and Scotland, featuring pictures taken at the family home in Argyll and of people from local communities in Campbeltown.

Linda 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 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.

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 is set to be one of the most highly anticipated exhibitions opening in 2019.

“We are delighted to be showing this fascinating exhibition which explores the full spectrum of photographic work by Linda McCartney, from her early career as a woman photographer working in a sector dominated at the time by men to her documentation of her family life and the natural world.

“Curated by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney this retrospective provides us with a fascinating and rare insight into a brilliant artist during the different periods of her photographic practice.”

For more information visit www.glasgowmuseums.com.