Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm
April 12–October 5, 2025
Photography Exhibition
Curated by Sally Martin Katz
Image: Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm. de Young Museum, San Francisco.
de Young Museum
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
San Francisco, CA 94118
+1-415-750-3600
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de Young Museum Hours
| Monday | Closed |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 9:30 am – 5:15 pm |
| Wednesday | 9:30 am – 5:15 pm |
| Thursday | 9:30 am – 5:15 pm |
| Friday | 9:30 am – 5:15 pm |
| Saturday | 9:30 am – 5:15 pm |
| Sunday | 9:30 am – 5:15 pm |
Overview
Today’s LOVE LETTER TO ART is to the de Young Museum’s exhibition Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm, organized by the National Portrait Gallery and beautifully curated by Sally Martin Katz.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I always knew I had taken some pictures in the 1960s. At first, I couldn’t pin-point the year, but I was certain we were quite young, just when The Beatles were really taking off. It was a crazy whirlwind that we were living through, touring and working pretty much every day and seeing loads of people who wanted to photograph us. There were loads of eyes, and cameras, at the center of this storm.
—Paul McCartney
Featuring more than 250 intimate photographs taken by Paul himself—alongside video clips and archival treasures (including the notebook where the lyrics to “I Want to Hold Your Hand“ were first written)—the show captures the Beatles’ whirlwind life from 1963 to 1964. It’s a rare chance to see Beatlemania not through the lens of the press, but through the eyes of one of its central figures.
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Preview Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm
In 2020, Paul McCartney rediscovered nearly one thousand photographs he had taken at the height of Beatlemania.
The de Young Museum’s exhibition presents over 250 of these images spanning December 1963 to February 1964.
They follow The Beatles from Liverpool to London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C., and Miami during their meteoric rise.
Shot on a Pentax 35mm single-lens reflex camera, the photographs capture the spontaneity of life on tour.
The photographs in the exhibition are shown exactly as McCartney framed them through his Pentax camera, with prints made from original negatives—or, where those are missing, from his contact sheets.
They reveal moments of rehearsal, hotel stays, and travel, functioning as both a visual diary and an affectionate family album.
McCartney’s lens offers intimate perspectives of John, George, and Ringo at a moment when their lives were being profoundly reshaped.
The exhibition also features archival treasures, including the original notebook containing the lyrics to “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
This was the period of their landmark Ed Sullivan Show appearance, seen by seventy-three million viewers, which cemented their global fame.
The exhibition will be especially nostalgic for Bay Area visitors, as The Beatles first took the U.S. stage at the Cow Palace in 1964 and gave their final live performance just two years later at Candlestick Park.
As the child of Asian American Baby Boomers, who happened to name me after the Beatles’ song Michelle, the Beatles have always had a presence in my life. When I was a tween, the world was going through an ’80s-does-the-1950s/1960s moment (my god, what a fun time—neon poodle skirts, Grease I AND Grease II).
I remember being so excited to find my parents’ Beatles records and exploring their music. Later, as a high schooler in the 1990s, I went deeper into the Beatles anthology (ironic, since it hadn’t even been released yet), connecting with songs like Strawberry Fields (which I try to visit whenever I’m in the UWS) and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds as I discovered recreational experimentation.
I’m not setting out to be seen as a master photographer, more an occasional photographer who happened to be in the right place at the right time. We were just wondering at the world, just excited about all these little things that were making up our lives. We were fascinated with what we were doing and what was happening to us, and it’s something I’ve never really lost. I’ve never lost that sense of wonder.
—Paul McCartney
I asked my mom a lot of questions while writing this. She told me that many of her friends were at the Beatles’ Candlestick concert and that the band was barely audible over the screams of the crowd—that she did not attend, as she was actually more into Motown music during that time—yet when I was born 12 years later in 1978, my parents nonetheless named me after the Beatles’ Michelle—a testament to the band’s lasting cultural impact.
I’ve always loved the aesthetics of the 1960s, so of course I was immediately drawn into the photographic style of the show—the cute mod boy haircuts, the big hair and the miniskirts, and the arrival of rock stars and the British Invasion. New money on yachts. Smoking anywhere and everywhere. It’s fun and glamorous and still pretty innocent. Right on the brink of change, but not quite there yet—a bygone era when music and fame were polished and novel. McCartney’s photographs not only document the Beatles’ historic rise to stardom, but perfectly encapsulate the intense excitement and energy of that time as well. Don’t miss it!
The exhibition’s accompanying catalogue by Paul McCartney can be purchased at the FAMSF store for $75.00/$67.50 (members) and on Amazon as well.
🗓 Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm is on view until October 5, 2025 at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park.
✨ It runs alongside some INCREDIBLE shows (see below), including The Art of Manga (post to follow soon); Rose B. Simpson: LEXICON; About Place: Bay Area Artists from the Svane Gift; and Leilah Babirye: We Have a History.
💌 Did you see the show(s) or try any of our recommendations? What did you think? Let us know in the comments (in the Reviews section located on the second tab at the top of the page).
QUICK GUIDE: DE YOUNG MUSEUM
- Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm | Features 250+ personal photographs by Paul McCartney, along with video clips and archival materials chronicling the Beatles’ lives from ’63-’64. Post to follow soon. | Closes Oct. 5, 2025
- Art of Manga | FANTASTIC exhibition featuring 700+ drawings chronicling the history of manga Post to follow soon! | Sept. 27, 2025–Jan. 25, 2026
- Rose B. Simpson: LEXICON | Muscle cars meet Pueblo pottery—sooooooo good! | Aug. 30, 2025–Aug. 2, 2026
- Rooted in Place: California Native Art | Explores the deep connections between art, ceremony, and land in the Karuk, Yurok, Hupa, Tolowa, Tsnungwe, and Wiyot communities of northwestern California. | Aug. 26, 2025–Dec 6, 2026
- Arts of Indigenous America | A major reinstallation celebrating Indigenous American art through the theme of “Relationship to Place,” featuring works from the past thousand years alongside contemporary commissions. | Aug. 26, 2025–Aug. 31, 2028
- Leilah Babirye: We Have a History | AMAZING AMAZING SHOW by the Ugandan artist, dramatically installed in the museum’s Art of Africa wing.) | Closes May 3, 2026
- Contemporary Painting in Papua New Guinea: Mathias Kauage and His Family | Four extraordinary paintings by Mathias Kauage from the museum’s private collection—on view for the first time—reveal the bold and expressive vision of one of Papua New Guinea’s most celebrated artists. | Closes March 15, 2026
- About Place: Bay Area Artists from the Svane Gift | 42 works by 30+ local artists. Includes excellent selections by Clare Rojas, Rupy C. Tut, and Chelsea Ryoko Wong. | Closes July 5, 2026
⭐ ADMISSION:
- General Admission Adults $20 (includes same-day GA entry to Legion of Honor Museum)
- Seniors 65+ $17
- Students (w/ID) $11
- 17 & Under FREE.
- *SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS +$15 (Includes access to permanent collections)
- **Membership (includes Legion of Honor Museum) starts at $129
- Free Satudays for Bay Area Residents (w/ID or postmarked envelope)
- Free First Tuesdays of the Month
- Discover and Go (Free w/library card—may not apply to all counties)
- SF Museums for All (show your EBT or Medi-Cal card/ID)
- Public Transportation Discount (receive a $2 discount w/proof of receipt)
- Free Admission to all exhibitions w/Sotheby’s Preferred Membership.
- *THE PERMANENT COLLECTION IS FREE TO VISIT AT 4:30 p.m.
- Docent Tour for Art of Manga runs Tuesday–Sunday 12:30 p.m. from Sept. 30, 2025–Jan. 23, 2026
- Compelling Gallery Conversations runs Saturdays 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. and First Tuesdays 10:30 a.m.
- Sketching in the Galleries on select Saturdays from 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
- Family Tour on select Saturdays 10:30 a.m.; Next one is July 19.
- Family Art Making on select Saturdays from 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m; Next one is Oct. 18, 2025 in the Kimball Education Gallery (inspired by Art of Manga).
- Boom and Bust: Photographing Northern California | Traces the cycles of growth, destruction, and renewal in Northern California through photography, from the Gold Rush and 1906 earthquake to the rise of San Francisco’s bridges and neighborhoods. | Oct. 18-June 7, 2026
- Embroidered Histories | Highlights European embroidery samplers from the 17th to 19th centuries, revealing their artistry and connections to the social, political, and economic history of the time. | Nov. 29, 2025–Dec. 6, 2026
- The McCoy Jones Collection: Textiles from Central Asia and the Middle East | Showcase of rugs, embroideries, and contemporary works from the McCoy Jones Collection, celebrating the diverse textile traditions of Central Asia and the Middle East. | Nov. 29. 2025–June 7, 2026
- *Monet and Venice | The first major exhibition in over a century dedicated to Monet’s dazzling Venetian cityscapes, featuring more than 100 works alongside masterpieces by Manet, Renoir, and Canaletto. | March 21, 2026–July 26, 2026
- Celebrating 100 Years at the Legion of Honor | Commemorative exhibition honoring the museum’s centennial. | Closes Nov 2, 2025
- Printing Color: Chiaroscuro to Screenprint | Explores the evolution of color in printmaking from the Renaissance to today. | Closes Jan 4, 2026
- *Manet and Morisot | Explores the 15-year artistic exchange between Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot, revealing how their groundbreaking friendship reshaped the course of modern art. | Oct 11, 2025–March 1, 2026
Currently on View at FAMSF’s de Young Museum
Coming Soon to FAMSF’s de Young Museum
Currently on View at FAMSF’s Legion of Honor
Coming Soon to FAMSF’s Legion of Honor
A LOVE LETTER TO ART RECOMMENDS
RELATED VIDEOS
Paul McCartney on Rearview Mirror: Photographs, December 1963–February 1964. Gagosian, Beverly Hills.
The Beatles performing “I Want to Hold Your Hand” on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 9, 1964.
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Author: ALoveLettertoArt
