About the Work
Mick Rock’s photograph of Lou Reed made for the cover of the 1972 album Transformer — the high-contrast, heavily lit portrait that became one of the most recognisable images in rock. Rock produced the picture during his close collaboration with Reed in London.
Mick Rock — “the man who shot the seventies” — held rare, sustained access to the era’s defining artists, from David Bowie and Lou Reed to Iggy Pop and Queen. This photograph belongs to a group of unique vintage prints from his personal archive held by The Music Photo Gallery.
This is a unique vintage gelatin silver print measuring 8 × 10 inches. No other copy of this print is known.


