About the Photograph
Working Class Hero is one of the rarest and most historically significant portfolios produced from Bob Gruen's archive.
Created in 1990, the portfolio brings together six original Cibachrome photographs of John Lennon made between 1972 and 1975. Produced in collaboration with Yoko Ono, the project was conceived as a complete presentation portfolio rather than a group of individual photographs, celebrating one of the most important visual records of Lennon's final years.
Each portfolio contains six original Cibachrome prints, professionally printed by Duggal Color Products Inc. in New York using the renowned Ilfochrome process, celebrated for its exceptional color fidelity, permanence, and museum-quality standards. Every print is individually numbered within its edition and remains housed in its original archival presentation case.
Offered here is Set No. 3, preserved in its original acid-free cloth-covered clamshell portfolio box with its engraved bronze title plaque. The complete presentation survives exactly as originally issued, making it a rare archival object in its own right.
More than a portfolio of photographs, Working Class Hero represents a historic collaboration between Bob Gruen and Yoko Ono and stands as one of the most important color publications dedicated to John Lennon. Preserved complete and in its original presentation, it is an exceptional acquisition for museums, institutional collections, and advanced private collectors of photography, music history, and twentieth-century cultural artifacts.
