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.