Photo shoot with Richard Avedon

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On this day, the Beatles were photographed with Richard Avedon, in a photo studio located in a penthouse in Thompson House, 200 Gray’s Inn Road, London. The American photographer took a number of shots of the band, but four of them would be used to produce four psychedelic images which were first released in the US magazine Look in January 1968, and in the UK Daily Express in February 1968.

From Richard Avedon. Paul McCartney. 1967 | MoMA:

In keeping with the Beatles’ pioneering desire to experiment with unconventional formats in their music and the packaging of their albums, their manager Brian Epstein commissioned Avedon to photograph the band members and design a set of posters that would visually capture the new psychedelic direction of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour. Avedon overlaid the solarized prints with Day-Glo colors and symbolic attributes Ringo’s white peace dove, George’s mystical henna patterns, Paul’s flower power, and John’s trippy eyeglasses. The posters were printed in four different countries and released simultaneously through popular magazines for maximum international impact.

The Beatles would meet again in the same photo studio in Thompson House, during their “Mad Day Out” photo session, in August 1968.

Last updated on April 1, 2024