Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs

Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs

Gallery
The Music Photo Gallery· Gallery· 80 works
Installation Views
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch standing beside two vintage gelatin silver prints of Bob Dylan photographed by Bob Gruen during the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, exhibited at The Music Photo Gallery, SoHo, New York.
Musician Jesse Malin and photographer Marcia Resnick at Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs from the 1970s at The Music Photo Gallery, SoHo, New York.
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Visitors viewing Bob Gruen's vintage gelatin silver prints mounted on masonite during an exhibition at The Music Photo Gallery, SoHo, New York.
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs
Essay

Bob Gruen: Vintage Photographs brings together a historic collection of rare, one-of-a-kind vintage prints from the photographer’s earliest years documenting the music and cultural revolution of New York in the 1970s.

The exhibition centers on original vintage photographs first exhibited at Bob Gruen’s debut exhibition at New York’s Beacon Theatre in 1971, offering a rare opportunity to revisit the images that established Gruen as one of the most important visual chroniclers of rock and roll. The works capture artists, performers and cultural figures at the moment they were redefining music, fashion and contemporary culture.

More than a historical survey, the exhibition reflects on the lasting influence of Gruen’s photography and its role in shaping the visual language of modern music culture. Through a selection of unique vintage prints, visitors are invited to experience the energy, intimacy and creative freedom that defined New York during a transformative decade.

Selected Works

Works from this exhibition.

Alice Cooper and Salvador Dali, New York City, 1973, photographed by Bob Gruen.
Bob Gruen
Alice Cooper and Salvador Dali ,  New York City, 1973
From$1,200
Alice Cooper, Madison Square Garden, New York City, 1973, photographed by Bob Gruen.
Bob Gruen
Alice Cooper ,  Madison Square Garden, New York City, 1973
From$1,200
Bob Dylan, Felt Forum, NYC. May 9, 1974, photographed by Bob Gruen.
Bob Gruen
Bob Dylan ,  Felt Forum, New York City, 1974
From$1,200
Bob Dylan, Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, 1965 (Color), photographed by Bob Gruen.
Bob Gruen
Bob Dylan ,  Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, 1965 (Color)
From$1,500
Chuck Berry, Madison Square Garden, New York City, 1971, photographed by Bob Gruen.
Bob Gruen
Chuck Berry ,  Madison Square Garden, New York City, 1971
From$1,200
Debbie Harry, Max's Kansas City, New York City, 1976, photographed by Bob Gruen.
Bob Gruen
Debbie Harry ,  Max's Kansas City, New York City, 1976
From$1,200
Bob Gruen captures, as he says, “the passion and emotion” of the performers on stage.  But even more significantly, he shows us what is unique and beautiful and powerful about each shining star in the musical constellation.  We experience not only the image, but also the light.  For indeed, before digital, photography was about light bouncing off the subject, onto the film and then projected through the light of the enlarger onto the light sensitive paper. There is a direct line of light from musicians onto Bob Gruen’s rare prints currently on exhibition for the first time.  They shine their light.
—Gail Buckland, Photo Historian and Photography Curator 
Press
Vanity Fair
Rock Photography Pioneer Bob Gruen Resuscitates 1970s New York

Two new exhibitions celebrate the singular work of photographer Bob Gruen, who, a half century ago, prowled New York’s night spots, making pictures of rising rock-and-rollers, including the young guns of punk rock. At the time, Gruen was merely capturing “the scene.”

A Rabbit's Foot
Legendary rock photographer Bob Gruen’s new exhibition will take your breath away

“My philosophy is that rock ‘n’ roll is about the freedom to express your feelings very loudly in public. It’s all about that moment when everybody is screaming ‘Yay!’ and nobody is thinking about anything else. That’s what I try to capture in my pictures,” explains the legendary rock photographer Bob Gruen. And boy, does he succeed! When I stepped into his breathtaking show of vintage prints made between 1971 and 1982 at the Music Photo Gallery in Soho, New York, I couldn’t think of anything else but the pictures. I was entranced.

The Eye of Photography
The Music Photo Gallery : Bob Gruen – Original Vintage Works From 1970’s

The Music Photo Gallery presents a revival of one of the most significant exhibitions in the history of music photography. The original showcase took place in 1971 at New York City’s Beacon Theatre, featuring Bob Gruen’s striking photographs of Ike & Tina Turner.

Artist
Bob Gruen
Bob Gruen
New York City, 1945 – present
Bob Gruen began photographing in the late 1960s in New York City, where he became part of the downtown scene that would define an era. His access was unparalleled — he was there not as a journalist...

Interested in presenting this exhibition?

This exhibition is available for museums, cultural institutions, festivals, commercial venues and special projects worldwide. For availability, technical requirements, touring information and partnership opportunities, please contact TMPG.

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