Roberta Bayley
The Music Photo Gallery · Represented Photographer
100+ Works ·Active since the 1970s

Roberta Bayley

B. New York City, USA ·Active since the 1970s
Roberta Bayley
Portrait of the photographer
Biography
Roberta Bayley’s photographs remain among the most direct and authentic visual documents of the New York punk scene.

Roberta Bayley is one of the defining photographers of the New York punk scene.

Closely associated with CBGB and the downtown music community, she created some of the defining images of the era.

Her photograph of the Ramones taken in New York in 1976 was used for the cover of the band's debut album and remains one of the most recognizable images in the history of rock and roll.

Bayley also photographed Blondie, Patti Smith, Richard Hell, Television, the Sex Pistols and many of the artists who shaped the visual identity of punk.

The Music Photo Gallery is honored to present a curated selection of Roberta Bayley's photographs, available as signed fine art prints produced under the artist's supervision.

In the artist's
own words
“I was there because it was my world.”
Roberta Bayley
Produced & distributed by TMPG

TMPG Touring
Exhibitions

Museum-scale productions drawn from Roberta Bayley's archive — available for museums, institutions and festivals worldwide.

Selected career exhibitions

Career Exhibitions

A selected record of museum and gallery presentations from Roberta Bayley's career.

Type
Exhibition
Venue
Year
Exhibition
New York Photography Fair
Presented by The Music Photo Gallery at the main section | Javitz Center, New York
2021
Exhibition
Ramones and the Punk Years
Presented by The Music Photo Gallery at Centro Cultural Borges, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2018
Exhibition
Summer and Smoke - Group Show Curated by Roberta Bayley
New York City
2019
Exhibition
Just Chaos! Group Show Curated by Roberta Bayley
Marc Jacobs - New York City
2013
Moving image & archive

Films, Interviews
& Television

Documentaries, recorded interviews and television appearances from the archive.

Roberta Bayley Exhibition in Buenos Aires
TV

Roberta Bayley Exhibition in Buenos Aires

TV2018

Promotional video produced for Roberta Bayley’s exhibition in Buenos Aires. Filmed at the former CBGB location in New York City, Bayley reflects on the downtown music scene of the 1970s and 1980s, revisiting the people, places, and moments that shaped the visual history of punk in just one minute.

Just Chaos! at Bookmarc NY
Interview

Just Chaos! at Bookmarc NY

Interview2013

As the Met celebrated punk style with "From Chaos to Couture", Bookmarc NY took to the streets to host 'Just Chaos!', a photo show curated by the photographer Roberta Bayley. Thirteen photographers offered mostly unseen images showcasing the creative vibe and spunk from back in the day. Copyright(c) 2013 Marc Jacobs International, LLC.

Ramones & CBGB, the punk years
Interview

Ramones & CBGB, the punk years

Interview2018

Spanish-language interview recorded during Roberta Bayley's exhibition at Centro Cultural Borges in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bayley reflects on her career, the New York punk scene, and the stories behind some of her most iconic photographs. The exhibition attracted nearly half a million visitors in just two months.

Roberta Bayley on the Origins of CBGB and New York Punk
Interview

Roberta Bayley on the Origins of CBGB and New York Punk

Interview2026

Iconic photographer Roberta Bayley reflects on the origins of CBGB and the New York punk movement, recalling the people, places, and photographs that defined an era. In this in-depth interview, she discusses the Ramones, Blondie, Patti Smith, Television, the Sex Pistols, and the story behind the iconic cover of the Ramones' debut album.

Roberta Bayley at Medimex Taranto
TV

Roberta Bayley at Medimex Taranto

TV2026

Italian television coverage of the opening of Roberta Bayley's exhibition at Medimex in Taranto, featuring her iconic photographs of the New York punk movement and the artists who defined an era.

Selected Press

In the press.

The New York Times

See the Ramones as You’ve Never Seen Them Before: Smiling.

A rare look at outtakes from Roberta Bayley’s legendary 1976 photo session for the Ramones’ debut album, revealing a lighter and more spontaneous side of the band.

Museum of the City of New York

The photographer who captured New York punk from the inside.

An institutional profile highlighting Bayley’s work at CBGB and Punk magazine, and her role in shaping the visual identity of the downtown music scene.

Huck

Roberta Bayley, the queen of punk, on New York’s raw years

She Just Takes Pictures — In the ’70s, Roberta Bayley moved to the city and bought a camera. Within a year, she was capturing icons like Iggy Pop, Blondie, the Sex Pistols and X-Ray Spex.