Paul McCartney is sharing a piece of rock history with Toronto.
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) has announced that the British rock star’s work will be on display in 2026 next year.
The exhibition, titled Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-1964: Eyes of the Storm, will feature video clips, archival materials and over 250 photographs taken during the early months of Beatlemania.
The AGO says the exhibit captures the “energy of the era,” and offers "more intimate views" of bandmates John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr during the intensity of the Beatles' touring schedule in the early 1960s.
Organized in collaboration with McCartney and London's National Portrait Gallery, the exhibit runs from Feb. 18 to June 7, 2026.
For fans itching to get a sight of the former Beatle this year, he’s taking his Got Back tour to Canada next month. McCartney will play Montreal’s Bell Centre on Nov. 17, before performing the opening show at Hamilton, Ontario’s TD Coliseum on Nov. 21.
Alongside the Brit icon, next year’s AGO’s 2026 exhibition lineup will include work by Canadian rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur.
Melissa Auf der Maur: My ‘90s Photographs emphasizes over 200 photographs that illustrate an intimate portrait of the last analogue decade — the 1990s.
In addition to her solo career, Auf der Mar has played in some of the biggest alternative rock bands including Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins, touring the world, documenting life backstage, onstage and in the crowd. The AGO is calling the exhibit “a time capsule of Generation X,” through the lens of the Canadian musician.
Melissa Auf der Maur, Self-portrait in mirror with Hole, Lollapalooza backstage, USA, 1995, chromogenic print © Melissa Auf der Maur
The exhibition will open in September 2026 and be on view through spring 2027.
Organizers say both musicians and their respective exhibits will offer a unique glimpse into their worlds at the peak of their fame.
Outside of music, six other exhibits are slated for next year’s AGO lineup, including Sunday Best, an exploration of Black style and self-fashioning, and The Impressionist Revolution: Monet to Matisse from the Dallas Museum of Art, revisiting the impact of the two avant-garde painters.
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