Pattie Boyd Exhibits Photos at the San Francisco Art Exchange

Press release
Source: San Francisco Art Exchange

This Valentine's Day, the San Francisco Art Exchange, LLC (SFAE) unveiled "Shared Memories: Photographs By Pattie Boyd," a new exhibition of photographic images by the celebrated woman who inspired George Harrison to write "Something," and Eric Clapton to pen "Layla" -- as well as the later, happier ballad "Wonderful Tonight." In addition to being rock 'n roll's most legendary muse, Pattie Boyd, who resides in London, is an acclaimed fine art photographer whose work had its U.S. debut in early 2005 at SFAE. Boyd will be on hand for artist's receptions at the gallery on February 17 and 18; in addition to west coast press, Pattie will also do New York City-based media during her Stateside visit.

Pattie Boyd's infatuation with photography began in London in the swingin' '60s, when she was a top model and mod fashion icon in the city's era-defining music, art and cultural scene. She began shooting to document the heady happenings of the day -- now the stuff of pop culture legend -- at the same time that she was chronicling it in words with her popular "Pattie's Letter From London" for 16 Magazine. Boyd has practiced photography professionally for the past two decades, and SFAE's 2006 solo exhibition of her work marks only the second time that she has exhibited in the United States. Following her 2005 show, SFAE sold upwards of $150,000 worth of Boyd's photographs, which are black & white and color, and range in price from $1,400 to $3,000 per print.

"Shared Memories: Photographs By Pattie Boyd" was curated in association with Raj Prem Fine Art Photography, with whom SFAE has had a longstanding association. The show will present over 70 original pieces, many of which reflect Boyd's storied vantage point from the epicenter of rock 'n roll, offering revealing images -- from candid to posed -- of former husbands George Harrison and Eric Clapton, as well as Marianne Faithfull, B.B. King, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck and Ronnie Wood among others. Several other portraits are related to a collaboration Boyd had with Ronnie Wood when Andrew Lloyd Webber commissioned the Rolling Stone, a renowned painter, to create a triptych portraying 50 celebrities. Wood asked Pattie to photograph each person so he could use the shots as studies for the massive mural, and Pattie credits the experience with deepening her range as a portraitist.

For a woman who has chosen to lead a distinctly private life for many years, Pattie Boyd has seen many of her defining personal experiences play out in a public forum. Boyd wed Beatle George Harrison in 1966 after meeting him in '64 when a modeling gig led to a bit part in A Hard Day's Night (this year marks the 40th anniversary of their nuptials). She spoke but one word in the film, but her influence on rock history speaks volumes -- Harrison wrote "Something" for her, a ballad regarded as one of music's greatest love songs.

In the final stages of Boyd's 11-year union with Harrison, Eric Clapton fell for her and wrote the anguished classic of unrequited love, "Layla." On a happier note, after they married in 1979, Clapton penned the lovely "Wonderful Tonight" for Pattie. While they divorced a decade later, they remain friends, and Clapton's forthcoming autobiography is sure to offer further insight into their relationship.

Boyd's impact on rock music has another fascinating twist. It was her quest for spiritual enlightenment -- which, like photography, has remained a constant in her life -- that spurred the Beatles' pilgrimage to India to study with the Maharishi. Photos from that famed trip to Rishikesh -- including previously unseen images of Lennon and McCartney together -- as well as shots from subsequent journeys to India, sacred sites around the world and other international destinations are also spotlighted in Boyd's new SFAE exhibition.

Currently, Pattie Boyd resides in the countryside near London, where she co-founded the non-profit organization SHARP (Self Help Addiction Recovery Programme) with Ringo Starr's wife Barbara Bach. Recently, she also signed on with the U.K. fashion house Viyella to model for their upcoming lines. Before her 2005 exhibition at SFAE, Pattie hadn't been to San Francisco for almost two decades. Previous to that, she famously charmed the city in 1967 -- the Summer Of Love -- when she and George, the only Beatle to visit S.F. that legendary summer, strolled down Haight Street robed in hippie regalia, myriad flower children in their wake. With "Shared Memories: Photographs By Pattie Boyd," her latest show at SFAE, Pattie once again visits the City by the Bay during a season of love.

Co-founded in 1983 by Theron Kabrich and James Hartley, San Francisco Art Exchange, LLC is a leader in international fine art sales and publishing, with a global reputation as premiere purveyors of world-class pop culture imagery including paintings, illustrations, photography and more. In addition to Pattie Boyd, SFAE has long represented the art of Alberto Vargas, album cover artist Roger Dean, fantasy-genre master Boris Vallejo and many noted rock/celebrity photographers including Ethan Russell, Terry O'Neill, Mick Rock, Jerrold Schatzberg, Joel Brodsky and many others. They are located at 458 Geary Street in San Francisco.

For more information, log on to www.sfae.com.