Elliott Landy
The Music Photo Gallery · Represented Photographer
50+ Works ·1967-Present

Elliott Landy

B. American photographer renowned for his iconic images of Bob Dylan, The Band and the Woodstock generation. ·1967-Present
Elliott Landy
Portrait of the photographer
Biography
"Elliott Landy's photographs helped define the visual identity of the Woodstock generation." — Bob Dylan Center

Born in New York in 1942, Elliott Landy began photographing the anti-war movement and New York's underground music scene during the late 1960s. His access to musicians through manager Albert Grossman led to long-standing relationships with Bob Dylan and The Band, resulting in some of the defining photographs of the period.

Landy's images appeared on influential album covers including Music From Big Pink, The Band, Moondance and Nashville Skyline, while his photographs of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Joan Baez, Van Morrison and many others became part of the visual history of rock music.

As one of the principal photographers of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, he created an enduring visual record of the event and later authored several landmark books devoted to Woodstock, Bob Dylan and The Band. Beyond music photography, his later work has explored impressionistic landscapes, flowers and experimental photographic techniques, while continuing to exhibit internationally and publish new books.

In the artist's
own words
I photograph what I find beautiful.
Elliott Landy
Selected career exhibitions

Career Exhibitions

A selected record of museum and gallery presentations from Elliott Landy's career.

Type
Exhibition
Venue
Year
Exhibition
Woodstock Music & Art Fair
Official festival photographer documenting the historic three-day event.
1969
Exhibition
The Band
Produced the celebrated photographs used for Music From Big Pink and The Band.
1968–1969
Exhibition
Bob Dylan
Created the intimate body of work later published as Dylan in Woodstock.
1968–1970
Exhibition
Janis Joplin
One of the photographer's best-known documentary series from the late sixties.
1969
Publications

Books

Monographs, catalogues and photography books from the archive.

Woodstock 1969: The First Festival

Woodstock 1969: The First Festival

Elliott Landy
Squarebooks · 1994

A landmark photographic tribute to the 1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair, featuring more than 180 images that document the performers, audience and spirit of one of the most influential events in music history.

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Woodstock Vision: The Spirit of a Generation

Woodstock Vision: The Spirit of a Generation

Elliott Landy
Backbeat Books · 2009

A landmark photographic chronicle of the Woodstock generation, featuring Elliott Landy's iconic images of the 1969 festival, its musicians and the spirit that defined an era.

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The Band Photographs: 1968–1969

The Band Photographs: 1968–1969

Elliott Landy
Backbeat Books · 2015

The Band Photographs 1968-1969 features more than 200 photographs documenting the Band during the time they made their first two albums, Music from Big Pink and The Band. More than half of the photos, drawn from Elliott’s archive of more than 12,000 images, have never been published before. This book is a pictorial history of The Band few have ever seen.

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Photographs of Janis Joplin: On the Road & On Stage

Photographs of Janis Joplin: On the Road & On Stage

Elliott Landy
Backbeat Books · 2022

escription A photographic tribute to Janis Joplin featuring Elliott Landy’s images from 1968 and 1969, including many previously unpublished photographs of her on the road, on stage and behind the scenes.

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Woodstock – A Spiritual Moment in Time

Woodstock – A Spiritual Moment in Time

Elliott Landy
Blue Dolphin Publishing · 2021

Combining Elliott Landy's iconic Woodstock photographs with essays on the festival's cultural and spiritual significance, this book offers a unique perspective on one of the defining moments in modern music history.

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Moving image & archive

Films, Interviews
& Television

Documentaries, recorded interviews and television appearances from the archive.

Elliott Landy in Conversation with the Bob Dylan Center
Interview

Elliott Landy in Conversation with the Bob Dylan Center

Interview2026

Elliott Landy joins the Bob Dylan Center to discuss his long relationship with Bob Dylan, the photographs that shaped Dylan's Woodstock years, and the stories behind some of his most iconic images.

Elliott Landy Remembers Woodstock | TODAY
TV

Elliott Landy Remembers Woodstock | TODAY

TV2019

In this interview with TODAY, Elliott Landy reflects on documenting the 1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair and discusses the photographs that helped define one of the most influential moments in music history.

Elliott Landy: The Spirit of a Generation | Montréal
Interview

Elliott Landy: The Spirit of a Generation | Montréal

Interview2011

Elliott Landy discusses his artistic vision during the opening of his exhibition The Spirit of a Generation in Montréal.

Selected Press

In the press.

Rolling Stone

Inside Elliott Landy’s Iconic Photos of the Band

Rolling Stone explores Elliott Landy's iconic photographs of The Band and their lasting influence on the visual history of rock music.

The Guardian

Elliott Landy's best shot

In this interview with The Guardian, Elliott Landy reflects on one of his most celebrated photographs of Bob Dylan, discussing the circumstances behind the image and his approach to documenting musicians during the Woodstock era.

Amerikana UK

Interview: Elliott Landy on The Band Photographs 1968–1969"


Elliott Landy discusses the making of his landmark book The Band Photographs 1968–1969, reflecting on his relationship with the group, the creative process behind the photographs, and the importance of preserving their visual legacy