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Untitled (Polaroid of a pair of sandals with red balloons inside)

Photograph
Artist/Maker

Linda McCartney (née Eastman) was born in New York City. She studied Fine Art at the University of Arizona, where she was introduced to photography by a tutor. Following success with pictures of the Rolling Stones at a record promotion party in 1966, McCartney began to establish herself as a music photographer. She was commissioned for publicity photographs of touring bands, but also became known for more intimate, behind the scenes pictures.

Throughout her career McCartney photographed many music luminaries of the 1960s such as Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, the Doors, the Who and Neil Young. She was also the first woman to have a photograph featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

Her work has been exhibited at the International Centre of Photography, New York, The Royal Photographic Society, Bath, and the V&A. One of her works, Self Portrait in Francis Bacon’s Studio, featured in the Royal Photographic Society book Photogenic, published by Scriptum Editions in 2000.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleUntitled (Polaroid of a pair of sandals with red balloons inside) (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Colour Polaroid
Brief description
Photograph by Linda McCartney, Untitled (Polaroid of a pair of sandals with red balloons inside). Date unknown
Physical description
Colour Polaroid depicts a pair of brown leather sandals with two red ballons inside. The sandals are placed on a table top and photographed directly, the background fades to black.
Dimensions
  • Height: 10.8cm
  • Width: 8.8cm
Gallery label
Photography Centre 2018-20: Highlights from the McCartney Collection Linda McCartney photographed many famous and influential figures of the 1960s, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie. She was the first female photographer to shoot a Rolling Stone magazine cover, with a portrait of Eric Clapton in 1968. She also made many touching personal photographs of her husband, Paul McCartney, and their children. Linda’s work inspired her daughter Mary to take up photography. Mary’s first exhibition featured candid pictures and studies of ballet dancers behind the scenes at Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House. Since then, Mary has gone on to photograph around the world, sharing her mother’s talent for capturing unguarded and unstaged moments. Untitled (Polaroid of a pair of sandals with red ballons inside). Date Unkown Colour Polaroid 8.8 x 10.8cm E.261-2018
Credit line
Gift of Sir Paul McCartney
Summary
Linda McCartney (née Eastman) was born in New York City. She studied Fine Art at the University of Arizona, where she was introduced to photography by a tutor. Following success with pictures of the Rolling Stones at a record promotion party in 1966, McCartney began to establish herself as a music photographer. She was commissioned for publicity photographs of touring bands, but also became known for more intimate, behind the scenes pictures.

Throughout her career McCartney photographed many music luminaries of the 1960s such as Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, the Doors, the Who and Neil Young. She was also the first woman to have a photograph featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

Her work has been exhibited at the International Centre of Photography, New York, The Royal Photographic Society, Bath, and the V&A. One of her works, Self Portrait in Francis Bacon’s Studio, featured in the Royal Photographic Society book Photogenic, published by Scriptum Editions in 2000.
Collection
Accession number
E.261-2018

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Record createdApril 11, 2018
Record URL
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