Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case Y, Shelf 62, Box C

George Harrison

Poster
1967 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Richard Avedon, a leading American photographer, took the original solarized photograph of George Harrison of The Beatles for this poster, in 1967. It was commissioned, alongside three portraits of the other band members and a banner poster of the whole band, by the band’s manager Brian Epstein. The posters were widely distributed by different magazines; The Daily Express in England and Look magazine in the United States. This set is one distributed by Stern magazine in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

These posters are seminal images of the late 1960s, not least because of the subject matter. The Beatles were at the height of their fame and inspired by psychedelia. This poster is an iconic image, showing the guitarist with henna symbols, referring to spirituality and his interest in Eastern religions.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleGeorge Harrison (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph
Brief description
Poster of George Harrison of the Beatles, print of solarized photographic image, Richard Avedon, late 1960s
Physical description
Poster featuring George Harrison of the Beatles, print of solarized phorographic image.
Dimensions
  • Height: 27in
  • Width: 19in
Credit line
Purchased through the Julie and Robert Breckman Print Fund
Subjects depicted
Summary
Richard Avedon, a leading American photographer, took the original solarized photograph of George Harrison of The Beatles for this poster, in 1967. It was commissioned, alongside three portraits of the other band members and a banner poster of the whole band, by the band’s manager Brian Epstein. The posters were widely distributed by different magazines; The Daily Express in England and Look magazine in the United States. This set is one distributed by Stern magazine in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

These posters are seminal images of the late 1960s, not least because of the subject matter. The Beatles were at the height of their fame and inspired by psychedelia. This poster is an iconic image, showing the guitarist with henna symbols, referring to spirituality and his interest in Eastern religions.
Associated objects
Bibliographic reference
Christoph Grunberg, ed. Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era London: Tate, 2005. 239 p. : ill. (some col.) ISBN: 1854375954.
Collection
Accession number
E.280-2002

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Record createdJanuary 7, 2004
Record URL
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