In 1967, Jimi Hendrix was at the peak of his powers when he stepped into the London studio of the American photographer Donald Silverstein ahead of the release of his second album ‘Axis: Bold As Love’. What emerged was a lightning-in-a-jar connection between the artist and the photographer, resulting in the most charismatic and relaxed images ever captured of one of the world’s all-time most influential musicians. The creative connection between Hendrix and Silverstein is underlined by an image of the pair touching foreheads.
Two images from the session are particularly well-known: the iconic open-shirt image of Hendrix which his label, Track Records, released as a poster and would go on to be heavily bootlegged in the years that followed; and the portrait of Hendrix flanked by his bandmates Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell that was used as the gatefold image of the ‘Axis: Bold as Love’ album. Yet despite these remarkable photographs, very little of the shoot -twelve rolls of film containing dozens of images – has ever been seen.
A selection of unseen images from the shoot will be released in three drops, the first of which will be available HERE from Sunday, November 27th to commemorate Hendrix’s 80th birthday. The drops are:
Drop 1 – The Puzzle. The Image of Hendrix and Silverstein touching foreheads has been split into 101 custom-shaped 1 of 1 puzzle pieces, each of which is a unique dynamic NFT which changes when clicked. Each shape possesses rarity traits, which heighten their collectability. Each piece will cost 0.080 eth (approximately $90 / £76) and will be available on the OpenSea platform.
Drop 2 – Artist Collaborations. The Silverstein family estate is collaborating with 80 artists of varied disciplines, with each artist creating a new piece of artwork, based upon images from the shoot, which will be sold as an NFT. Artists so far confirmed to participate include the enigmatic street artist duo The Postman, graphic designer David Carson, and the multidisciplinary artist Anna Condo.
Drop 3 – Exclusive 1 of 1 NFTs: A selection of 27 unseen images from this shoot will be released as individual 1 of 1 pieces. These will be available to private collectors, galleries and museums.
Donald Silverstein (1934-1975) was first drawn to the world of photography when he was gifted a Rolleiflex camera by his mother. His talent was evident from a young age, and his first break came working for Glamour in the US when he was just 19-years–old. A year later, he was recruited by the renowned Art Director Alexander Lieberman for British Vogue, which he followed with two years at French Vogue before later setting up a studio on Riding House Street, London. Constantly in-demand from fashion publications, newspapers and leading advertising agencies, he was regarded as being in the same tier as the generation’s leading photographers David Bailey, Terence Donovan and Brian Duffy.
Despite his tragically premature death, Silverstein’s iconic images of Hendrix will endure for decades to come. The story of both Silverstein’s life and his most famous shoot will be explored in an upcoming documentary by Lost Shoots, who specialise in establishing a Web3 legacy for timeless photography. And legacy is a key aspect of the project: after years of receiving little or no credit for the finest portrait of the most influential guitarist in history, Donald Silverstein is now attracting the attention that his work deserves.
