Rock 'n Roll Muse Pattie Boyd Celebrates Valentine's Day 2005 in San Francisco

Rock 'n Roll Muse Pattie Boyd Celebrates Valentine's Day 2005 in San Francisco

San Francisco Art Exchange to Mount the First-Ever Exhibition of Boyd's Powerful Photographic Work

Opening February 14, the Show Will Feature 60+ Pieces, Including Portraits of Rock Icons

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Although Pattie Boyd has remained a distinctly private person over the years, large portions of her life are truly the stuff of legend. Rock 'n roll's ultimate muse, Boyd wed Beatle George Harrison in 1966 after meeting him in '64 when a modeling gig led to a bit part in A Hard Day's Night. She spoke but one word in the acclaimed film, but her influence on rock history spoke volumes -- Harrison wrote "Something" for her, a sublime ballad that's regarded as one of contemporary music's greatest love songs. Then, in the final stages of Boyd's 10-year union with Harrison, Eric Clapton fell for her, and wrote the anguished classic of unrequited love, "Layla," #27 on Rolling Stone Magazine's '500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.' On a happier note, after they married in 1979 (they divorced a decade later), Clapton penned the lovely "Wonderful Tonight" for Pattie.

Throughout her remarkable life, Boyd has documented the world around her photographically. She began shooting in London during the heady days of the mid-'60s, when she was an icon of the city's swingin' scene, writing the column "Pattie's Letter From London" for 16 Magazine, among other pursuits. For the last two decades, Boyd has practiced photography professionally, and the San Francisco Art Exchange's (SFAE) 2005 solo exhibition of her work marks her worldwide gallery debut. Opening Valentine's Day, February 14, SFAE will display over 60 original pieces spanning the last four decades. The exhibition was curated in association with Raj Prem Fine Art Photography, with whom SFAE has had a longstanding association.

SFAE co-founder Theron Kabrich commented, "We're thrilled to have the privilege of introducing Pattie Boyd's distinctive photography in her debut exhibition. She has a special vision, and a unique perspective, and I believe it will resonate with collectors and fans of photography everywhere."

Many of the pieces reflect Boyd's historic vantage point from the epicenter of rock 'n roll culture, offering revealing images -- ranging from candid to more formal -- of Harrison and Clapton, as well as Marianne Faithfull, B.B. King, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Jagger and Ron Wood, among others. Several portraits shown will be ones related to a previous collaboration that Boyd had with Wood. Andrew Lloyd Webber had commissioned the Rolling Stone, who's a respected painter, to create a triptych bearing the likenesses of 50 celebrities, and Wood asked Pattie to photograph each of the notables for him to work from in creating the massive mural. The experience deepened Pattie's portfolio and built her reputation as a portraitist.

In addition to inspiring immortal love songs, Boyd's impact on rock music has another fascinating twist. It was her quest for spiritual enlightenment -- which, like photography, has remained a constant thread in her life -- that spurred the Beatles' pilgrimage to India to study with the Maharishi. Photos from that famed trip to Rishikesh, along with subsequent journeys to India, sacred sites around the world, and other international destinations are also spotlighted in Boyd's SFAE exhibition.

Currently, Pattie Boyd resides in the countryside near London. She remains friends with Clapton and other rock icons, and co-founded the charity SHARP (Self Help Addiction Recovery Programme) with Ringo Starr's wife Barbara Bach, but she avoids the limelight. Pattie has rarely traveled to the States, and hasn't been to San Francisco for almost two decades. Most famously, she charmed the city in 1967 -- the Summer Of Love -- when she and George, the only Beatle to visit S.F. that legendary summer, strolled down Haight Street bedecked in hippie regalia, a legion of flower children behind them. When Pattie returns to San Francisco for the world premiere of her work at SFAE on Valentine's Day, February 14, America can celebrate the season of love with Pattie Boyd.

Co-founded in 1983 by Theron Kabrich and James Hartley, SFAE is a world leader in international fine art sales and publishing, with total sales in excess of $30 million. They're known globally as premiere purveyors of world class pop culture imagery of every kind. SFAE has long represented the art of Alberto Vargas and Ronnie Wood, as well as famed album cover artist Roger Dean, fantasy-genre master Boris Vallejo, and over 30 noted rock/celebrity photographers including Ethan Russell, Terry O'Neill, Mick Rock, Jerrold Schatzberg, Joel Brodsky and many others. Their gallery is located at 458 Geary Street in downtown San Francisco. Recent exhibition highlights include Summer 2004's landmark "The Art Of The Album Cover," featuring a rare collection of original paintings and photographs that have appeared on over 100 iconic album jackets.

For more information, log on to www.sfae.com


Source: San Francisco Art Exchange

CONTACT: Michael Jensen, +1-626-585-9575, or Susan Stewart,
+1-530-823-5962, stewgren@foothill.net, both for San Francisco Art Exchange

Web site: http://www.sfae.com/


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