63 images by Linda McCartney donated to the V&A’s new photography centre

The V&A has announced a new photography centre designed by David Kohn Architects and set to open to the public this autumn and now the V&A has announced that Paul McCartney and family have given 63 photographs by Linda McCartney to the photography centre.

Linda McCartney won the accolade US Female Photographer of the Year in 1967 and in 1968 became the first female photographer to shoot the cover of Rolling Stone, later sitting for the front cover herself with Sir Paul McCartney, her husband.

The images, which will bolster that of The National Collection of the Art of Photography, span the 40 years from the 1960s to 1990s, with portraits of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix alongside portraits of the McCartney family on holiday. The images include a broad range of the photographic processes and techniques employed by the photographer, such as lithographs, bromide prints, cyanotype prints, platinum prints, photogravures, hand painted prints, contact sheets and Polaroids.

Martin Barnes, who is the V&A’s Senior Curator of Photographs commented, “Linda McCartney was a talented eye-witness of pop culture and explored many creative approaches to artistic photography. Her camera also captured tender moments with her family. This exciting gift of photographs complements the museum’s collections of photography that ranges from documents of performance to fine art. Our greatest thanks go to Sir Paul McCartney and his family for this incredibly generous gift.”

It is the first instance when Linda McCartney’s polaroids will been accessible to the public.