The V&A Museum is opening a new Photography Centre in October this year. The new space, which was designed by David Kohn Architects, will be displaying not only over 200,000 images and objects from the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), but also dozens of photos shot by Linda McCartney, thanks to the generous donation from the family of Paul McCartney.
“Linda McCartney was a talented eye-witness of pop culture and explored many creative approaches to artistic photography,” says Martin Barnes, senior curator of photographs at the V&A. “Her camera also captured tender moments with her family. Our greatest thanks go to Sir Paul McCartney and his family for this incredibly generous gift.”
A total of 63 images taken by Linda McCartney, including original Polaroids of the McCartney family that have never been seen publicly before, portraits of rock music icons including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, will go on display in the V&A’s new Photography Centre.
Born Linda Louise Eastman in 1941, Linda married Paul McCartney in 1969 and had four children – Stella, Heather, Mary and James. Before their 29-year marriage begun, she was already a noted photographer and voted as US Female Photographer of the Year in 1967. The following year, she became the first female photographer to shoot a Rolling Stone magazine cover with her portrait of Eric Clapton. Linda was also widely recognized as an animal rights activist and a die-hard vegetarian. In 1998, Linda McCartney died of breast cancer. She was 56.
The V&A’s new Photography Centre will open to the public on 12 October 2018.
