Sarah Brown

Sarah Brown became Paul McCartney’s personal archivist, after a role working in Vogue’s photo archive. She answered an anonymous job posting for a photo archivist. She was worked after an extended interview process. First, she worked with Linda McCartney’s vast archive, but eventually, the focus shifted to Paul’s pictures.

Sarah Brown was instrumental in the making of the “Eyes Of The Storm” photo exhibition launched in 2023.

We were in a meeting about an exhibition we were planning for Linda, and he mentioned that he had taken his own pictures in the ‘60s and asked if I could locate them. […] He had two people dedicated to his archive who did an amazing job of scanning and digitizing all of the negatives and contact sheets. I just had to search on the digital archive and find where they were stored. [But] Sometimes a box from an attic does appear and it’s exciting when you get to look at that.

Sarah Brown – From Inside the Making of Paul McCartney’s ‘1963–64: Eyes of the Storm’ | Observer, June 19, 2024

This body of work is such a fabulous time capsule. How in the world did you rediscover these images, and what was it like to find them again? 

I have an archivist, Sarah Brown, who works with me archiving the work of Linda [McCartney, Paul’s late wife]. One day, during a meeting about Linda’s photography, I happened to say to her, ‘Hey, I took some pictures in the Sixties. I wonder if we have them still.’ 

Sarah said, ‘Yes, you do,’ and she knew where they were. So we agreed to have another meeting and look at those photographs. She had relationships with a lot of galleries, including the National Portrait Gallery where my daughter Mary had done some work, and she said they’d like to look at them. So it went from me rediscovering these old pictures to the National Portrait Gallery looking at them, and they liked them. We started talking about what they’d like to do with them, and they eventually came up with the idea of an exhibition and a book.

Paul McCartney – From interview with Christie’s, June 20, 2024

What I love about his photographs is that he gives just as much attention and dignity to the non-celebrities he was surrounded by. He’s just as interested in the ordinary working person as he is by all these musicians and people surrounding him.

Sarah Brown – From Inside the Making of Paul McCartney’s ‘1963–64: Eyes of the Storm’ | Observer, June 19, 2024

When he was looking through all these photos, he was talking about how they brought back happy, fun memories for him. He had completely forgotten he had taken shots like George with sunglasses in a bikini with a drink, looking so relaxed and happy. Looking through the viewfinder, he had no idea who these pictures would come out. Today, he finds it all really joyous.

Sarah Brown – From Inside the Making of Paul McCartney’s ‘1963–64: Eyes of the Storm’ | Observer, June 19, 2024

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