Jim Marshall, Legendary Music Photographer, 1936-2010
Govinda Gallery commemorates the passing away of Jim Marshall on March 24th. Gallery director Chris Murray first met Jim Marshall over twenty years ago through Marshall’s studio assistant, photographer Chester Simpson. Govinda frequently exhibited Marshall’s photographs, beginning in July of 1993 in a show called The Jimi Hendrix Exhibition. In March of 2002, the gallery hosted a one-person exhibition of Marshall’s photographs that included extraordinary portraits of the Allman Brothers, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Carlos Santana, Sly Stone, Eric Burdon, Creedence Clearwater, The Beatles, Tim Hardin, Michael Bloomfield, and many more. The Washington Times wrote on March 21st, 2002 that “The self-styled outlaw photographer has captured everyone from Bob Dylan to Johnny Cash over a long storied career.”
Whenever Jim came to Washington, D.C. he would visit Govinda and hang out in the gallery’s back room. He attended the opening of his friend and fellow photographer Barry Feinstein’s exhibition at Govinda in November 2002. Marshall traveled from New York to Washington for that opening with photographer Danny Clinch, whose first exhibition was at Govinda in September of 2001. Danny was filming Jim for a documentary he is making on Jim Marshall.
Marshall’s portrait of Little Richard is included in the upcoming traveling exhibition Sound and Vision: Monumental Rock Photography being organized by the Columbus Museum of Fine Art and curated by Govinda Gallery director Chris Murray.
We will all miss Jim Marshall.
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Chester Simpson and Jim Marshall.
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Jim Marshall in Govinda’s back room with gallery assistant Wells Noonan.
Copyright © Chester Simpson. All Rights Reserved.
Jim Marshall with Govinda Gallery director Chris Murray in New York City, 1993.
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The invitation to Jim Marshall’s exhibition at Govinda in 2002.
Another example of the “60 is the new 40” cliche is that Jim, at 73, was far too young to die. He was definitely one of the great ones. Nobody worked with natural light better than Jim.