Exhibitions
PAUL MCCARTNEY PHOTOGRAPHS 1963–1964: EYES OF THE STORM
Frist Art Museum / 919 Broadway November 7, 2025 - January 26, 2026
Paul McCartney
Organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London, this exhibition is an intimate and historic opportunity to see the extraordinary archive of recently discovered photographs taken by Paul McCartney between December 1963 and February 1964. Over the course of these three short months, the Beatles—Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr—were propelled from being the most popular band in Britain to an unprecedented international cultural phenomenon.
The photographs in this exhibition, taken by McCartney with his own camera, provide a uniquely personal perspective on what it was like to be a Beatle at the start of Beatlemania—from gigs in Liverpool and London to performing on the Ed Sullivan show in New York for an unparalleled television audience of 73 million people.
Drawn from McCartney’s own personal archive, the majority of these images have never been seen before. They allow us to experience the Beatles’ extraordinarily rapid rise from a successful regional band to global stardom through McCartney’s eyes. At a time when so many camera lenses were on them, this perspective—from the inside—brings fresh insight to the band, their experiences, the fans, and the early 1960s.
Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm has been organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London, England, in collaboration with Paul McCartney. It is curated by Sir Paul McCartney with Sarah Brown for MPL Communications and Rosie Broadley for the National Portrait Gallery.
image: Paul McCartney. Self-portrait. London, 1963. © 1963-1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive license to MPL Archives LLP
About Frist Art Museum:
Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Frist Art Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art exhibition center dedicated to presenting and originating high-quality exhibitions with related educational programs and community outreach activities. Located at 919 Broadway in downtown Nashville, TN, the Frist Art Museum offers the finest visual art from local, regional, national, and international sources in exhibitions that inspire people through art to look at their world in new ways. Housed in Nashville’s former main post office building – the city’s treasured art deco structure that was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 – the Frist Art Museum is a 124,400-square-foot facility with more than 45,000 square feet of combined exhibition and public space. On site, there is a gift shop, Café Cheeserie, and the award-winning, interactive Martin ArtQuest gallery, where guests can create their own works of art. Information on accessibility can be found at FristArtMuseum.org/accessibility. Gallery admission is free for guests ages 18 and younger and for members, and $20 for adults. For current hours and additional information, visit FristArtMuseum.org or call 615-244-3340.
Press Contact: Buddy Kite, bkite@fristartmuseum.org, 615-744-3351
