Bruce Springsteen, Frank Stefanko, and Annie Leibovitz

by Chris Murray on September 26, 2016

Today is the publication date for Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography, Born to Run. I was so pleased to see Bruce chose Frank Stefanko‘s wonderful photo, taken of him in Haddonfield, NJ during the winter of 1978, for the cover of his book.

Bruce Springsteen, "Corvette Winter" © Frank Stefanko

Bruce Springsteen, “Corvette Winter” © Frank Stefanko

Govinda Gallery presented that photo in Frank Stefanko’s first exhibition, Days of Hope and Dreams: An Intimate Portrait of Bruce Springsteen, during the fall of 2003 at Govinda. It was also featured in Sound and Vision: Monumental Rock & Roll Photography, the traveling museum exhibition organized by Govinda Gallery with the Columbus Museum. Also exhibited in that extraordinary museum tour of large-scale pigment prints was Frank’s beautiful portrait of Patti Smith.

Patti Smith, © Frank Stefanko

Patti Smith, © Frank Stefanko

It was a great pleasure for me to edit Frank Stefanko’s first book, also titled Days of Hope and Dreams: An Intimate Portrait of Bruce Springsteen. Frank’s photo of Bruce and his ’60 Corvette is featured as a double spread in that book. Frank comments in his book about the day he took that photo, “…he arrived in a slick ’60 Corvette. I think that car was his pride and joy. It was loaded, it was sleek, it ruled Route 9 and the New Jersey Turnpike. I imagined what it would be like to be Bruce, cruising in that Vette up the Pike under that giant Exxon sign in the wee, wee hours, thinking up song ideas while listening to his favorite tunes in that bad-ass Corvette.”

Days of Hope and Dreams: An Intimate Portrait of Bruce Springsteen (Insight Editions)

Days of Hope and Dreams: An Intimate Portrait of Bruce Springsteen (Insight Editions)

Bruce is also on the cover of the current issue of Vanity Fair, with a photo taken by Annie Leibovitz almost 40 years after Stefanko’s photo. Govinda Gallery hosted Annie Leibovitz’s first exhibition, Annie Leibovitz: Photographs, in November of 1984. That exhibition was also a launch for Annie’s first book of the same title. In that exhibition was Annie’s photo of Bruce in 1981 in Uniondale, New York, which was the first photograph of Springsteen to be shown at Govinda Gallery. That was a remarkable exhibition.

Bruce Springsteen, Uniondale, New York, 1981. ©  Annie Leibovitz

Bruce Springsteen, Uniondale, New York, 1981. © Annie Leibovitz

Category: Blog   

3 responses to “Bruce Springsteen, Frank Stefanko, and Annie Leibovitz”

  1. Ron Gravitz says:

    I was there for the Frank’s book signing in 2003, because Bruce is one of my favorite artists. That book is one of my most prized pieces of Rock memorabilia.

  2. lynne gomez says:

    chris–as always–thanks for the great photos! STILL miss your gallery!

  3. Chris Murray says:

    We miss you Lynne.

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