The Beatles: Unseen photos taken by Sir Paul McCartney to go on display

The photographs will share fresh insight into the Fab Four’s experiences, their fans and the early 1960s, all through the eyes of Paul McCartney.
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Never-before-seen photographs taken by Sir Paul McCartney are set to go on display at The National Portrait Gallery, this summer.

The display will share an extraordinary archive of rediscovered and unseen images taken by Paul, using his own camera, between December 1963 and February 1964.

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This period is known as the time in which The Beatles - Paul, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr - were propelled from being the most popular band in Britain to an international cultural phenomenon.

Paul takes portrait photos in a mirror in Paris, 1964. Image: National Portrait Gallery/Paul McCartneyPaul takes portrait photos in a mirror in Paris, 1964. Image: National Portrait Gallery/Paul McCartney
Paul takes portrait photos in a mirror in Paris, 1964. Image: National Portrait Gallery/Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm will run from June 28 to October 1 as one of two major exhibitions set to relaunch the gallery after three years of refurbishments.

Drawn from McCartney’s own archive, the exhibition provides a uniquely personal and never-before-seen perspective on what it was like to be a ‘Beatle’ at the start of ‘Beatlemania’ – from gigs in Liverpool and London to performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in New York.

Image: National Portrait Gallery/Paul McCartneyImage: National Portrait Gallery/Paul McCartney
Image: National Portrait Gallery/Paul McCartney

At a time when so many camera lenses were on the band, these photographs will share fresh insight into their experiences, their fans and the early 1960s, all through eyes of Paul McCartney

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The National Portrait Gallery has been closed since 2020, for the largest redevelopment in its history and will reopen its doors on June 22 2023, with a programme of major exhibitions. Yevonde: Life and Colour will be the first exhibition to open.

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