Govinda Gallery

BOB DYLAN CENTER TO HOST BECOMING BOB DYLAN: PHOTOGRAPHS BY TED RUSSELL 1961–1964 EXHIBITION OF RARE IMAGES FROM BOB DYLAN’S EARLY YEARS IN NEW YORK OPENS APRIL 26

TULSA, Okla.: The Bob Dylan Center® (BDC) will host Becoming Bob Dylan: Photographs by Ted Russell 1961–1964, an exhibition of rare images from Bob Dylan’s early years in New York City,
beginning April 26 and running through Oct. 15, it was announced today by BDC Director Steven Jenkins and American Song Archives (ASA) Director of Archives and Exhibitions Mark Davidson. BDC tickets are available at bobdylancenter.com.

Ted Russell’s photographs offer an important view into Bob Dylan’s life during the pivotal years of 1961 through 1964, when the artist was just establishing himself as a songwriter and performer in the vibrant folk music scene of New York’s Greenwich Village. Among the photographs to be displayed are candid images of Dylan performing one of his earliest shows, in the company of his girlfriend Suze Rotolo, in his first New York apartment, receiving his first public award (in the company of James Baldwin) and rare photographs of Dylan writing some of his earliest songs.

“This collection of photographs documents Dylan’s first years as a musical artist and offer visitors an intimate glimpse into the side of Bob Dylan that has escaped the often-mysterious lore and history that surrounds the genius that we know and love. Bob Dylan, a bohemian poet, would become the most original and influential songwriter of our time. We are enriched by this portrait of the artist as a young man,” said Founder and Director of Govinda Gallery in Washington, DC, and curator of the exhibition Chris Murray.

Ted Russell is a renowned photographer and one of the few remaining legendary group of shooters who worked for LIFE magazine in the 50’s and 60’s. He has captured iconic images of Marilyn Monroe, Malcolm X, John Coltrane, President John F. Kennedy, Peggy Lee, Indira Gandhi, Norman Mailer, Robert Kennedy and many more. His work has been featured in numerous publications, including Rolling Stone, The Financial Times, LIFE and Time.

“We are thrilled to bring Ted Russell’s remarkable photographs to the Bob Dylan Center,” said Jenkins. “This exhibition offers a unique opportunity to see Bob Dylan through the eyes of an immensely talented and respected photographer alongside a trove of artifacts from the Bob Dylan Archive®.”

Ahead of the exhibition’s public opening, Bob Dylan Center members will have exclusive access to Becoming Bob Dylan during a private event on April 25 that will feature a conversation with Murray. For more information about Becoming Dylan and the Bob Dylan Center, please visit bobdylancenter.com.

ABOUT THE BOB DYLAN CENTER 
Anchored by a permanent exhibit on the life and work of Bob Dylan, the Bob Dylan Center® is committed to exploring the myriad forms of creativity that enrich the world around us. Located in the Tulsa Arts District, the center serves to educate, motivate and inspire visitors to engage their own capacity as creators. Through exhibits, public programs, performances, lectures and publications, the center fosters lively conversations about the role of creativity in our lives.

As the primary public venue for the Bob Dylan Archive® collection, the center curates and exhibits a priceless collection of more than 100,000 items spanning Dylan’s career, including handwritten manuscripts, notebooks and correspondence; films, videos, photographs and artwork; memorabilia and ephemera; personal documents and effects; unreleased studio and concert recordings; musical instruments and many other elements. More information at bobdylancenter.com.

ABOUT TED RUSSELL
Ted Russell is a renowned photographer and one of the few remaining legendary group of shooters who worked for LIFE magazine in the 50’s and 60’s. He has captured iconic images of Marilyn Monroe, Malcolm X, John Coltrane, President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and many more. His work has been featured in numerous publications, including Rolling Stone, The Financial Times, LIFE and Time.

ABOUT CHRIS MURRAY
Chris Murray is the founder and director of Govinda Gallery in Washington, DC. Murray is the author or editor of 24 books. Most recently, Murray edited Elvis and the Birth of Rock and Roll: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer (Taschen 2022), and George Harrison: Be Here Now (Rizzoli 2020). Murray has organized over 250 exhibitions of many of the nation’s leading visual artists. He lives in Washington, DC.

I love this portrait of Levon Helm by Catherine Sebastian. Enjoy the photographer’s description of her photograph.

“We were at Levon’s home studio in Woodstock at a band morning meeting (they began at noon, of course) when I captured this candid portrait. The band was: Mac Rebennack, Paul Butterfield, Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, and sometimes Booker T. A joyful time for Levon. It was fascinating, funny, and a privilege to be the proverbial fly on the wall.” – Catherine Sebastian

Catherine Sebastian’s photographs are available through Govinda Gallery.

Photo by Carlotta Hester/Govinda Gallery.

It was my good fortune to discover photographer and filmmaker, Alfred Wertheimer and his photographs of Elvis Presley in 1956. Alfred became a great friend and collaborator for over 20 years. I edited Wertheimer’s four books featuring his photographs of Elvis, and curated and organized over 25 remarkable exhibitions of his photographs in museums and galleries internationally. The first book we did together, Elvis at 21 (Insight Editions), featured an essay by Presley’s biographer, Peter Guralnick. I love that book, and it was a moment I’ll never forget in October of 2006 when I had the opportunity to present a copy of Elvis at 21 to Lisa Marie. She was performing with her band at The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia for her second album Now What. I was able to meet with Lisa Marie at her tour bus and gave her a copy. She commented that she liked Alfred Wertheimer’s photographs and we took a photo together with the book. I thanked Lisa Marie, and she went on stage and put on a dynamite performance. Esteemed music critic Robert Hilburn wrote in 2003 of Lisa Marie and her “…powerful, hauntingly personal work,” and of her “…gutsy, blues-edged voice.”

Editor and author extraordinaire, David Friend, asked me to assist in editing the special photo supplement Icons of Rock that accompanied the last issue of Vanity Fair from the 20th century, which was December 1999. The text was written by the esteemed music writer, Lisa Robinson, and the cover featured Gered Mankowitz’s truly iconic portrait of Jimi Hendrix.

Tommy Hilfiger threw a great party in Los Angeles at his flagship store to launch the Icons of Rock issue, which he sponsored. I was at the party with photographer Bob Seidemann, who lived in Los Angeles. I included his remarkable portrait of Janis Joplin in 1967 wearing nothing but some beads that Seidemann happened to have in his studio, in the special Vanity Fair issue.

Janis Joplin, 1967 © Bob Seidemann.

Suddenly, I saw Lisa Marie arrive at the party with three or four of her friends. I wanted to say hello to Lisa Marie and I asked Seidemann to come with me as he was wearing the very same beads that Janis wore in the photograph. I thought Lisa Marie might enjoy meeting Bob and seeing him wearing the beads. When I said hello and introduced Lisa Marie to Bob, I showed her the photo of Janis that Bob had taken. She did indeed enjoy seeing that picture of Janis, and Bob wearing the very same beads that Janis wore! The DJ at the party was amazing, and I asked Lisa Marie if she’d like to dance. She said yes and we had a great time together. After a little while, her friends joined us on the dance floor. Lisa Marie was wonderful.

Remembering Lisa Marie on her birthday.

It was not long after the “turn of the century” in May of 2000 that Govinda Gallery presented the first exhibition of Glen Friedman’s photographs. Here is a short video of Friedman talking about meeting the MacKaye Brothers at a Bad Brains’ show, along with some commentary by Eric Brace and Chris Murray.

I was invited to the HBO screening at The National Archives of Alexandra Pelosi’s latest film, Pelosi In The House. I am a fan of documentary films and Alexandra Pelosi has made 15 of them, including Journeys with George (which was nominated for 6 Grammy’s), Homeless: The Motel Kids of Orange County, and The Words That Built America, among others. Alexandra is my favorite documentary filmmaker.

After the screening there was a wonderful reception at the National Archives where I met the Ambassador from Ukraine, Oksana Markarova, along with filmmaker Pelosi, two extraordinary women. It was a compelling evening.

Left to right: Alexandra Pelosi, Chris Murray and Ambassador Markarova. Photo by Carlotta Hester.

Govinda Gallery was pleased to present Kaleidoscope Eyes: A Day in the Life of Sgt. Pepper in 2008, featuring Henry Grossman’s rarely-seen photographs of The Beatles during the recording of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band, arguably the most iconic and influential album of all time. This is the first exhibition of Henry Grossman’s remarkable photographs of The Beatles.

Taken during a single night’s session–as the band recorded “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”—these photographs offer a compelling portrait of four of the most popular and publicized figures of the 20th century. Grossman’s uniquely intimate account documents The Beatles’ captivating individual personalities while attesting to their collaborative power at their creative peak.

Henry Grossman’s career began in the early 1960s. As a contributing photographer for Time, Life, Newsweek, and People Magazine, Grossman covered a variety of important figures, including Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Taylor, Nelson Mandela, Duke Ellington and Truman Capote. Grossman gained unprecedented access to President John F. Kennedy in the White House and abroad. Through his work he also befriended The Beatles and went to Abbey Road Studios to photograph them during the legendary Sgt. Pepper session.

Donovan’s latest album GAELIA is remarkable. A great tribute to his Gaelic-Irish roots. The amazing David Gilmour is featured on the single, “Rock On,” along with a bounty of other musical artists joining Donovan on this beautiful CD.

Enjoy the album cover visuals, as well as the vintage photos of Donovan and David Gilmour below.

Here is a link to a sample of all the songs via Donovan’s website, where one can also order the CD.

Donovan by Baron Wolman, 1968. From the photo session for the first interview in Rolling Stone Magazine.

David Gilmour by Barrie Wentzel, 1975.

Addison/Ripley Fine Arts in Georgetown are opening a compelling exhibition this Saturday called ART + NFT. This innovative exhibition features 20 artists, with each artist exhibiting an original work along with an NFT of that work. It is sure to be a dynamic exhibition.

Two of our favorite artists are included in the exhibition, Tom Meyer and Carlotta Hester. The opening is this Saturday, December 10, from 5 to 7pm.

Carlotta Hester, Ritual Reaction, 2022.

Tom Meyer, Back Room Deal, 2020.

It was 35 years ago today that guitarist extroadinaire Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones had his first exhibition in America at Govinda Gallery. The occasion was also the launch of Ronnie’s first book The Works (Harper & Row). Ronnie spent two days at Govinda and it was a blast! The afternoon a day before the exhibition’s opening Ronnie signed copies of The Works at Govinda and the line to see him went all the way down 34th street in Georgetown, and around the corner. Ronnie was most gracious and his fans loved meeting him.

Ronnie Wood signing copies of The Works. Govinda Gallery director Chris Murray next to Ronnie. December 4th, 1987.  © Govinda Gallery Archive

The poster for Ronnie Wood’s exhibition and book signing, inscribed “4 Chris and the GOVINDA.”

Chris Murray introducing Ronnie Wood to Washington Post music critic, Richard Harrington. It was a great night at Govinda Gallery. Photograph by Peter Crook.

The 70s from Ronnie Wood’s Decades series. David Bowie, Rod Stewart, John Lydon.

Jimi Hendrix at Mason’s Yard, London, 1967. © Gered Mankowitz.

Today would be Jimi Hendrix’s 80th birthday. Jimi was the ‘Greatest Of All Time’ at what he did. Here is a link to John Kelly’s story in the Washington Post about Govinda Gallery director Chris Murray’s evening with Jimi Hendrix, as well as Murray’s post from The Back Room in 2018 with additional images for Hendrix fans. Happy birthday Jimi!