NEW YORK — The U.S. Postal Service today honored Linda McCartney (1941–1998), with a pane of stamps featuring her still life and landscape images. McCartney had a multifaceted career as a photographer, musician, cookbook author and animal rights activist who was a pivotal figure in the vegetarianism movement. A dedication ceremony for the stamps was held today at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Postmaster General David Steiner remarked, “Linda McCartney’s life and work represents the best of what the USPS stamp program seeks to recognize: art that endures…art that enriches…art that uplifts people and art that is universal.” Steiner continued, “And of course, across every part of her life — art, music, and advocacy — Linda led with her heart. And that’s the legacy we hope these stamps capture.”
The Postmaster General was joined by daughter Mary McCartney who remarked, ‘She was a pioneer, she was definitely ahead of her time, but none of it was planned and conscious. It all came from the heart.”
Born Linda Louise Eastman on Sept. 24, 1941, in Scarsdale, NY, she graduated from Scarsdale High School and attended Vermont College, where she received an associate’s degree in 1961. She then studied art history at the University of Arizona, where she began taking photographs after studying with prominent photographer Hazel Larsen Archer.
In 1966, her photographs of the Rolling Stones on a yacht cruising New York’s Hudson River were published. Soon after she was photographing musicians such as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors and Aretha Franklin. She captured relaxed, intimate portraits, often with a sense of joy and humor. In 1968, a portrait of Eric Clapton earned her the distinction of being the first female photographer to have their work featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
She married musician Paul McCartney on March 12, 1969. They had three children together, and one from her previous marriage. In 1974, the McCartneys appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone, making Linda McCartney the first person to both photograph a cover and grace one.
In 1971, McCartney joined her husband in the band Wings, playing keyboards and providing vocals. Wings would earn two Grammy Awards and sell millions of albums before breaking up in 1981.
McCartney’s first book of photography, “Linda’s Pictures: A Collection of Photographs,” was published in 1976. Her other photography books include “Sun Prints” (1988), featuring 19th-century cyanotype techniques, and “Linda McCartney’s Sixties: Portrait of an Era” (1992). She also experimented with Polaroids of her family, animals, and small moments from everyday life. Her photographs have been exhibited at the Royal Photographic Society in Bath, England, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and throughout the United States.
In the early 1970s, the McCartneys became vegetarians, and Linda would go on to become an outspoken animal rights advocate. Her first vegetarian cookbook, “Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking,” was published in 1989 and became a bestseller. In 1991, she launched Linda McCartney Foods, a pioneering vegetarian food company. In one of the first mainstream depictions of vegetarianism, the McCartneys appeared in a 1995 episode of “The Simpsons,” wherein Lisa Simpson becomes a vegetarian. They agreed to appear on the condition that Lisa remained vegetarian for the remainder of the series. A spokesperson for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and a supporter of environmental groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, McCartney is also credited as one of the largest drivers of the meat-free movement.
In 1995, McCartney was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died April 17, 1998. Her solo album, “Wide Prairie,” was released posthumously.
The pane of 20 stamps showcases five different photographs taken by McCartney.
- “Shadow. Sussex,” 1984 — a black-and-white photo of a horse in the snow standing on its hind legs
- “Sunflowers,” mid 1990’s – color image of an arrangement of sunflowers and other brightly colored flowers on a grey weathered wooden table.
- “Through a Glass Teapot,” 1996 — a black-and-white photo of a half-full glass teapot, with the inverted reflection of a tree in the glass
- “Carnation. Sussex,” 1985 — astill life of a single yellow carnation in a vase against a white lace curtain with flowers
- “Cherries, Antigua” — taken in 1969 from the same photo shoot as the cover art from her husband’s 1970 debut solo album, “McCartney.”
The selvage features “Self Portrait,” a 1992 black-and-white self-portrait of McCartney behind her camera. Derry Noyes, an art director for the USPS, designed the stamps and stamp pane using McCartney’s photographs.
News of the Linda McCartney stamps are being shared with the hashtag #LindaMcCartneyStamps.
Postal Products
Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through The Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic, or at Post Office locations nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon. Additional information on stamps, first-day-of-issue ceremonies and stamp-inspired products can be found at stampsforever.com.
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