Original pair of color 30.75 x 13.25 fold-out posters removed from the January 9, 1968 issue of Look magazine, containing Richard Avedon’s classic psychedelic portraits of the Beatles; the page 45 fold-out features George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and a Richard Kostelanetz article, and the page 48 fold-out depicts John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and a Saul Steinberg article. The reverse of both features Avedon’s more formal black-and-white panoramic portraits of the band. In overall fine condition, with light handling wear, including some creases and very small edge tears. Accompanied by the original NEMS Enterprises advertisement and order form.
In 1967, Beatles Manager Brian Epstein commissioned fashion and portrait photographer Richard Avedon to shoot the band members and design a set of posters that would visually capture the new psychedelic direction of the Beatle’s music. Avedon took a number of shots of the group on August 11, 1967, four of which were later adorned with psychedelic effects. Avedon overlaid the solarized prints with Day-Glo colors and symbolic attributes, and the portraits were entitled ‘Flame Bright John,’ ‘Flower Power Paul,’ ‘Mystic George,’ and ‘Dove Loving Ringo.’
They were first published in the January 9, 1968 edition of the Look Magazine in the U.S., and were also offered for sale in Stern Magazine in Germany, The Daily Express in England, and Varagids in Holland. Given the thin paper on which they were printed, and how the vast majority of these posters were displayed on walls via tacks or tape, original Avedon-Beatles posters from the Look magazine are rarely found in such condition. These posters have become seminal images of the late 1960s, transcending the world of music memorabilia and appealing to collectors of art and design alike.
