Paul McCartney and John Lennon visit the Robert Fraser Gallery

On this day, Paul McCartney visited the Robert Fraser Gallery for the opening of an exhibition by American sculptor Claes Oldenburg. John Lennon was present as well; it was the second time he met with Yoko Ono.

Tuesday, November 22nd, 1966 John and Yoko re-entered each other’s orbit shortly thereafter, once more through the influence of the art world; this time it was at the Robert Fraser Gallery on Duke Street. John remembered, “The second time I met her at a gallery opening of Claes Oldenburg in London. We were very shy, we nodded at each other and we didn’t know—she was standing behind me, I looked away because I’m very shy with people, especially chicks. We just smiled and stood frozen together in this cocktail party thing.” Yoko recalled the contrast in his appearance: “John was probably up all night. I don’t know what he was doing but he looked like a totally different person—unshaven, looking very sort of, uh, angry, and he was — I just was amazed at — it was the person I met in the Indica Gallery.“

From “Lennonology” by Chip Madinger, Scott Raile

John’s next encounter with Yoko came unexpectedly, at an opening party for an exhibition of Claes Oldenburg’s work at the Robert Fraser Gallery on November 21. In works like Soft Toilet, Floor Burger, and Shoestring Potatoes, Oldenburg, a Swedish-born American based in New York, pioneered soft pop art sculptures that were both bold and humorous. John had a brief conversation with Yoko, but then Paul arrived and began talking to her, so John roughly pulled Paul away, explaining to Yoko that they both needed to go somewhere. He left her with the impression that he was harboring a lot of anger. In truth he was anxious that his more sociable and outgoing friend with avant-garde connections might make more headway with her than he had. He wanted Yoko for himself.

From “Beatles ’66: The Revolutionary Year” by Steve Turner

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