Astrid Kirchherr: A Retrospective

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Acknowledgments
Artist and Muse - The Photography of Astrid Kirchherr
Michael Bracewell
Interview with Astrid Kirchherr
Colin Fallows
Astrid Kirchherr - Pop Modernist 1959-1966
Jon Savage
Interview with Klaus Voormann
Colin Fallows
Interview with Gibson Kemp
Colin Fallows
A Vision of Liverpool - Astrid Kirchherr and the city in 1964
Matthew H Clough
Interview with Ulf Kruger
Colin Fallows
Astrid Kirchherr - Influences and Favourites
Contributors' Biographies

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Astrid Kirchherr – A Retrospective presents a stunning collection of photographs by the legendary Hamburg photographer, including some never before seen early shots of the Beatles. This richly illustrated book also puts Kirchherr’s work in a context above and beyond the shadow of Merseybeat: though she has taken few photographs since 1967 her work has been exhibited in Hamburg, Bremen, Liverpool, London, Vienna, New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis and Tokyo, highlighting her significant international presence in photography over the past 50 years. The book draws heavily on unparalleled access to the archives of Astrid Kirchherr and includes photographs of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Kirchherr's former fiance, Stuart Sutcliffe, as well as other key protagonists in the Beatles story, such as Klaus Voormann and Rory Storm. Essays from acclaimed contemporary music writers Jon Savage and Michael Bracewell complete a book that will be compulsory reading - and viewing - for Beatles fans and photography students alike.

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In the early 1960s the Beatles posed for hours for the German photographer Astrid Kirchherr, even before the roster of four band members was finalized. She met them when they first played in her native Hamburg and encouraged them to imitate her bowl-cut hair and collarless jackets. She was briefly engaged to the bass player Stuart Sutcliffe, who died of a brain hemorrhage in 1962, at 21. She later tried to branch out as a photojournalist, but potential clients always asked, "Where are the Beatles pictures?" This spring Ms. Kirchherr, 73, decided to shed the baggage. Early this fall Guernsey's auction house in New York will offer about 800 of her negatives and prints. Although she says she has remained friends with the surviving Beatles, she cannot wait to stop being asked about them, and the past in general. "I must tell you the truth, I'm absolutely fed up with it all," she said in a recent phone interview. She added, "I've got to take care of my age." Buyers at the auction will receive rights to reprint and publish the photos "as they see fit," Arlan Ettinger, president of Guernsey's, said. Ms. Kirchherr, despite her jadedness, has come back into the limelight in the last year. Arne Bellstorf, a German comics artist, wrote and illustrated "Baby's in Black: The Story of Astrid Kirchherr & Stuart Sutcliffe" (published by Reprodukt). A retrospective of her work closed in January at the Victoria Gallery & Museum in Liverpool, and Liverpool University Press (distributed by University of Chicago Press) has issued a Kirchherr monograph. In July the new Museum of Liverpool will open with a gallery devoted to Beatles memorabilia. It will display a jacket that the drummer Pete Best wore during Hamburg stints before he was replaced by Ringo Starr, and Sutcliffe's black leather wallet, with white hearts painted on the corners and an inscribed love note from Ms. Kirchherr

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