Paul McCartney, photographs 1963-64 : Eyes of the Storm

From 4 July to 1 November 2026, the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence will present a remarkable exhibition of photographs by Beatles legend, Paul McCartney: “Paul McCartney Photographe1963-64: Eyes of the Storm".

Featuring over 250 photographstaken by the musician between 1963 and 1964, the exhibition captures a pivotal moment for the band, as their fame spreads beyond Liverpool and the UK to the global stage. 

This profoundly personal insight into a key period in the band’s history was made possible by the rediscovery in 2020 of nearly a thousand photographs taken with a 35mm camera.

Found in Paul McCartney’s archives, these images record the band’s extraordinary journey from city to city, across Europe and America, starting in Liverpool and London at the end of 1963, Paris, and then the United States in February 1964, where their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show drew an audience of 73 million.

In that moment, the Beatles achieved worldwide superstar status, redefining the very concept of fame in the modern era, setting the template for celebrity for decades to come.

His images open a window into the private lives of the “four boys from Liverpool” on tour, as they venture out into the world and discover the United States for the first time. Less than 20 years after the end of the Second World War, the country was seen by Paul McCartney—and by many Europeans—as the one that had liberated Europe. It represented a form of modernity and held everyone in thrall.

These photographs capture the energy of their concerts, the long days spent in rehearsals, in hotels, on the road, with the media watching their every move. For these four young men, already in the spotlight, every experience was an adventure.

Paul McCartney’s images capture the spirit and style of the 1960s, from the UK to Paris and the United States. Visitors are transported to the past—through the rear window of a car, from a train, or along the pavement outside Paris’s Olympia concert hall, where The Beatles performed alongside Sylvie Vartan. Many of the photographs were taken spontaneously, sometimes blurred, sometimes carefully composed. A lifelong interest in photography began for Paul McCartney as a child, when he and his brother experimented with the family’s Kodak Brownie.

The exhibition, presented chronologically, is divided into eight sections: Behind the Camera; The Early Years of the Beatles: Liverpool and London; Paris; Departures and Arrivals: New York; New York to Washington; Miami; and Coda (Last Days), August–September 1964.