Sale Overview
Pattie Boyd — model, muse, photographer, icon. Her life and career chart some of the seminal moments in the cultural revolution that changed the world in the 1960s. Photographed by some of the best known photographers of the 20th century, she appeared on the cover of Vogue no less than four times. Boyd, former wife of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton, is regarded by many as rock’s most legendary muse and would inspire some of the greatest love songs of all time.
Already a successful model, Pattie Boyd was chosen to play a school girl in the 1964 Beatles film Hard Day’s Night — a small part which changed the course of her life when she met her future husband, George Harrison, on set. Their relationship would inspire George Harrison to write Something and put Pattie at the centre of Beatlemania. In 1970, Harrison’s close friend Eric Clapton, who gave Pattie the nickname Layla, would declare his secret love for her in the song of the same name. One of the highlights of the collection is the original cover artwork for Derek and The Dominoes 1970 album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
Other highlights include letters and lyrics as well as the iconic Eric Swayne photograph which appears on the cover of Pattie’s 2022 book My Life in Pictures. The Pattie Boyd collection opens a window on her private world through the personal letters, ephemera and mementoes she has treasured as well as offering glimpses behind the lens from her parallel life as a photographer.
Please note that a certificate of provenance signed by Pattie Boyd will be issued for each lot in this sale and all photographs will be stamped with a Pattie Boyd collection stamp.