Glasgow hosts unique exhibition of Linda McCartney’s photography

A major retrospective of photography by Linda McCartney, curated by her family, has gone on display in Glasgow.

The McCartney family, including Sir Paul and Linda, at their High Park Farm in Kintyre in the 1970s.

It is the first time the exhibition of images – from showbiz shots to intimate portraits of her husband and children – has been shown in the UK.

Sir Paul McCartney and daughters Mary and Stella put together The Linda McCartney Retrospective, which runs at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum from Friday to 12 January next year.

Sir Paul said: “The whole family loves to honour Linda’s work – she would have loved this because Glasgow was a place she loved.

“She loved Scotland because it gave us a lot of fond memories, a lot of freedom and a lot of happy times.

“It is nice to have all of that encapsulated in the Kelvingrove exhibition.”

Linda McCartney became a professional photographer in the mid-1960s, capturing Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles among others.

In 1968, she was the first female photographer whose work was featured as the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, with a portrait of Eric Clapton.

Following her marriage to Paul her work focused on the natural world, family life and social commentary.

She died from breast cancer in 1998 at the age of 56.

Sir Paul said: “I think I cried for about a year on and off. You expect to see them walk in, this person you love, because you are so used to them.

“I cried a lot. It was almost embarrassing except it seemed the only thing to do.”

Stella McCartney said: “Through these images you meet the real mother I knew.

“You see her raw and deep talent and passion for her art, photography.

“Ahead of her time on every level, this mother-of-four still held her camera close like a companion, she captures the world around her through her eyes and this can be seen on the walls around the exhibition.

“Her humour, her love of family and nature and her moments framed with a slight surreal edge ... Scotland was one of her favourite places on Earth and so many images were taken there.”

The retrospective also includes one of Linda McCartney’s diaries from the 1960s and a selection of her cameras and photographic equipment.

The exhibition has previously been shown in Vienna, Seoul and Montpellier.