More than 250 photographs from Paul McCartney‘s personal archive will be displayed for the first time as part of a major exhibition, staged to mark the National Portrait Gallery’s reopening in June.

Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the exhibition will shine a light on the portraits captured by McCartney using his Pentax camera between November 1963 and February 1964, the period in which McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were propelled from being the most popular band in Britain to an international cultural phenomenon.

Described by McCartney in his own words as the “eyes of the storm,” these photographs provide a uniquely personal and never-before-seen perspective, documenting his time with The Beatles at a critical moment in the groups’ evolution.

“Looking at these photos now, decades after they were taken, I find there’s a sort of innocence about them,” said McCartney. “Everything was new to us at this point. But I like to think I wouldn’t take them any differently today. They now bring back so many stories, a flood of special memories, which is one of the many reasons I love them all, and know that they will always fire my imagination.”

“The fact that these photographs have been taken by the National Portrait Gallery for their reopening after a lengthy renovation is humbling yet also astonishing – I’m looking forward to seeing them on the walls, 60 years on,” added the Beatles co-lead vocalist and guitarist.

An accompanying book of photographs and reflections by Paul McCartney, titled, “1964: Eyes of the Storm,” will be published on June 13 by Penguin Press in the U.K. and by W.W. Norton in the U.S.

The book is available to pre-order at https://www.paulmccartney.com/eyesofthestorm

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