PAUL ON THE RUN: In a New Book, an Intimate Look at the Paul McCartney Household

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In a New Book, an Intimate Look at the Paul McCartney Household
‘Linda McCartney: The Polaroid Diaries’ is a sampling of 30 years of previously unseen snapshots by the late photographer and musician of her friends, family and the Beatles’ world
By Myles Tanzer
Oct. 4, 2019

Linda McCartney: The Polaroid Diaries is a sampling of 30 years of previously unseen snapshots by the late photographer and musician. The book provides an intimate look at the McCartney household. Portraits of beloved pets along with scenic glimpses of countryside are scattered among candid shots of Paul and the children happily at play. As Linda’s close friend Chrissie Hynde notes in the book’s introduction, “Around her, everyone was always relaxed and at ease.”

For fans of Paul McCartney’s music, there are some great shots in the collection to admire. There’s a cheeky shot of Paul and Ringo Starr hanging out in the 70s. Towards the end of the book, there’s a photo of Paul toasting mismatched mugs with George Harrison and Beatles mentor George Martin. There’s also some brief glimpses of studio time in Nigeria, where it’s known the couple worked on the Wings albumBand on the Run.

But it’s those familial snapshots that really manage to draw readers in. Paul is covered head-to-toe in marker doodles, wears silly hats and proudly shows off a toothpaste-covered mouth. The couple’s flock of kids are pictured with tangled hair behind Star Wars masks and lots of toothy grins. Their home in Scotland, complete with lots of four-legged friends, seems like a very special place to them. Everything captured here is informal but it’s all totally welcoming.

British writer Ekow Eshun explains at the start of the book that McCartney’s affinity for the Polaroid amounts to more than just family memory preservation. He writes that these photos are not only art in themselves, but a testament to Linda’s creative spirit as an artist. “McCartney’s magazine work meant she was always at ease working in color, never mind the purists,” he writes. “Her Polaroids reveal McCartney delightedly exploiting the camera’s ability to create images of rich and sometimes startling vividness.” $50; taschen.com

Stella (left) and Mary McCartney in Scotland in the ’70s.
PHOTO: LINDA MCCARTNEY © PAUL MCCARTNEY

Linda McCartney in Montserrat in the ’80s.
PHOTO: LINDA MCCARTNEY © PAUL MCCARTNEY

Paul McCartney brushing his teeth in the ’80s.
PHOTO: LINDA MCCARTNEY © PAUL MCCARTNEY

Paul, Stella and James celebrating in the ’90s.
PHOTO: LINDA MCCARTNEY © PAUL MCCARTNEY

Paul in London in the ’70s.
PHOTO: LINDA MCCARTNEY © PAUL MCCARTNEY

Paul holding baby James McCartney in the ’70s.
PHOTO: LINDA MCCARTNEY © PAUL MCCARTNEY

A meal at the McCartneys’ Sussex home in the ’80s.
PHOTO: LINDA MCCARTNEY © PAUL MCCARTNEY

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Linda McCartney’s Polaroid Diaries
Launch at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Mary, Paul and Stella McCartney with Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach

Paul McCartney with the Collector’s Edition book

Chrissie Hynde and Stella McCartney

Stephanie Phair, Stella McCartney, Rosemary Ferguson

Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach

Olivia Harrison

On September 18, Benedikt and Marlene Taschen hosted Mary, Stella, and Paul McCartney for the launch of Linda McCartney: The Polaroid Diaries at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Guests included Ringo Starr, Chrissie Hynde, Twiggy, Sharleen Spiteri, Marc Newson, Rosemary Ferguson, Sheherezade Goldsmith, and more.

After a private cocktail reception in the V&A’s Photography Centre, Mary and Stella McCartney – plus surprise guest Paul – joined 275 V&A members for a conversation about the book and Linda McCartney’s photographic work moderated by critic and author Ekow Eshun. A book signing in the Silver Galleries of the museum concluded the evening.

Bringing together hundreds of unseen Polaroids from the 1970s to the late 1990s, the book provides intimate testimony to Linda McCartney’s legacy as a fiercely committed and experimental artist, and is TASCHEN’s second monograph of her work following the 2011 publication of Linda McCartney: Life in Photographs.