George DuBose
The Music Photo Gallery · Represented Photographer
50+ Works ·1980–Present

George DuBose

B. American Music Photographer | Ramones, Punk Rock & New York Music Scene ·1980–Present
George DuBose
Portrait of the photographer
Biography

George DuBose was born in Rabat, Morocco, to a U.S. Marine major and his 19-year-old wife. At just two months old, he returned to the United States with his mother and began a childhood marked by frequent relocations, rarely attending the same school for more than two years.

Moving constantly across the country exposed DuBose to a wide range of communities, cultures, and ways of life. That experience helped shape the curiosity, adaptability, and instinct for observation that would later become central to his work as a photographer.

Growing up with a transistor radio under his pillow, DuBose developed an early fascination with popular music. When The Beatles arrived in America in 1964, his interest intensified and he began studying guitar. A few years later, he joined a neighborhood cover band and became increasingly immersed in rock and roll.

At the same time, he developed a strong interest in visual art. His maternal grandmother was a professional illustrator, and he was drawn to art throughout high school and college. Although he admired drawing and painting, photography offered him a more immediate way to record the world around him.

DuBose eventually brought together his interests in music, visual culture, and documentary photography. In New York, his work became closely connected to the punk and downtown music scenes. He worked extensively with the Ramones for more than a decade, creating album artwork, portraits, promotional images, and candid photographs. Johnny Ramone would later refer to him as the band’s “official photographer.”

His career, however, extends far beyond punk. DuBose also played a significant role in the visual history of early Hip-Hop, photographing many of the artists who defined the genre as it moved from an emerging New York culture into an international phenomenon. His portraits, album covers, and promotional photographs documented artists including Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shanté, Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, and many others associated with the formative years of Hip-Hop.

Working closely with musicians, record labels, and the independent music industry, DuBose developed a distinctive photographic language rooted in directness, personality, and collaboration. His images often occupy the space between commissioned photography and cultural documentation, preserving not only the appearance of the artists but the atmosphere of the scenes in which they emerged.

Today, George DuBose’s archive offers a remarkable visual record of several interconnected chapters of modern music culture—from New York punk and the Ramones to the formative years of Hip-Hop. His album covers, portraits, and behind-the-scenes photographs document artists and communities that helped transform the sound and image of popular music.

In the artist's
own words
"The best photographs often happen when something unexpected goes wrong."
George DuBose
Selected Works

From the archive.

View all 22 works →
The B-52's, debut album session portrait, New York City, 1979, photographed by George DuBose.
The B-52's,  Debut Album Session, New York City, 1979
George DuBose From$1,300
The Cramps, studio group portrait, photographed by George DuBose.
The Cramps,  Studio Portrait
George DuBose From$1,300
The B-52's, unreleased studio concept portrait, New York City, photographed by George DuBose.
The B-52's,  Unreleased Concept, New York City
George DuBose From$1,300
Bryan Adams in Times Square, New York City, 1979, photographed by George DuBose.
Bryan Adams,  Times Square, New York City, 1979
George DuBose From$1,300
Bryan Adams, urban studio portrait, photographed by George DuBose.
Bryan Adams,  Urban Portrait
George DuBose From$1,300
Klaus Nomi performing live in New York City, photographed by George DuBose.
Klaus Nomi,  Live in New York City
George DuBose From$1,300
Selected career exhibitions & projects

Career Exhibitions & Selected Projects

A selected record of museum and gallery presentations, publications, assignments and significant projects from George DuBose's career.

Type
Title
Venue
Year
Exhibition
All Ramones
Orion Club, Rome, Italy
2011
Exhibition
Art and Music Collide in Ramones Exhibition
Gallery 98, New York City, USA
2016
Exhibition
All-Ramones Pop-Up Exhibition
IDEM, Cannes, France
2017
Publications

Books

Monographs, catalogues and photography books from the archive.

I Speak Music

I Speak Music

George DuBose
George S.W. DuBose Publishing · 2013

A photographic portrait of the Ramones and the people around them, drawn from George DuBose’s archive as the band’s longtime photographer. Iconic and unpublished images are paired with personal recollections and stories from behind the scenes.

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Madonna...Raw: A Very Early Concert

Madonna...Raw: A Very Early Concert

George DuBose
KMW Studio · 2015

The complete photographs DuBose made at a Madonna concert in October 1981, before her rise to fame. Rediscovered from four rolls of black-and-white film, the images are accompanied by DuBose’s recollections and an interview with guitarist Dan Gilroy.

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My Best Shot: An Overview of the Photography Career of George DuBose

My Best Shot: An Overview of the Photography Career of George DuBose

George DuBose
DuBose Publishing · 2018

A career-spanning selection of DuBose’s favorite photographs, featuring artists from the Ramones and Blondie to The Notorious B.I.G. Personal stories and behind-the-scenes anecdotes accompany the images.

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NY NIGHTLIFE: Photos of the stars at night in Max’s Kansas City, The Mudd College of Deviant Behavior, Studio 54, CBGBs, Area and other places where I forget I was.

NY NIGHTLIFE: Photos of the stars at night in Max’s Kansas City, The Mudd College of Deviant Behavior, Studio 54, CBGBs, Area and other places where I forget I was.

George DuBose
Mudd Club Books · 2026

Unpublished photographs from New York’s nightlife scene, 1978–1983, including Max’s Kansas City, the Mudd Club, Studio 54, CBGB and Area. DuBose’s images capture the musicians, artists and personalities of downtown at the time.

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The Big Book of Hip Hop Photography

The Big Book of Hip Hop Photography

George DuBose
Wonderland Publishing · 2013

Photographs and stories from DuBose’s work with New York hip-hop artists, from album covers and studio sessions to promotional images. The book offers a behind-the-scenes look at the visuals that helped shape a generation of artists.

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Moving image & archive

Films, Interviews
& Television

Documentaries, recorded interviews and television appearances from the archive.

George DuBose Interview
Interview

George DuBose Interview

Interview2017

An interview with photographer George DuBose discussing his career, his work with the Ramones, and his role in shaping the visual history of American punk rock.

George DuBose on Photographing Madonna and New York's Music Scene
Interview

George DuBose on Photographing Madonna and New York's Music Scene

Interview2016

In this interview, photographer George DuBose reflects on his early experiences documenting New York City's music scene and photographing Madonna before her rise to international fame. DuBose discusses his work with emerging artists during the early 1980s, the creative energy of downtown New York, and the photographs that would later become an important visual record of one of popular music's most influential cultural icons.

Selected Press

In the press.

El Pais

George DuBose, el quinto Ramone

George DuBose, the Ramones' longtime photographer, presents a selection of images that document the band's history and visual legacy, offering a unique perspective on one of punk rock's most influential groups.

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El Pais

Así nació el mito de Madonna

A major exhibition in Málaga brings together the early photographs of Madonna by Deborah Feingold, Peter Cunningham, and George DuBose, revealing the artist before international fame transformed her into a global icon.

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El Mundo

Viaje a los orígenes de Madonna

The Centro de Cultura Contemporánea de Málaga presents El nacimiento de un mito, featuring iconic photographs by Deborah Feingold, Peter Cunningham, and George DuBose documenting Madonna's formative years.

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