A trove of intimate, never-before-seen photographs of rock and roll legends has emerged from the attic shadows, offering a rare glimpse into music history. The Rye Arts Center is proud to unveil the Unseen Photographs of Rock & Roll Legends exhibition, featuring works from The Lost Negatives Project, an extraordinary collection of Michael Friedman’s rediscovered works, featuring candid images of Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, The Band, and other legendary artists during their prime from 1968 to 1973.
Michael Friedman, a music manager and producer who worked alongside rock’s greatest names in the 1960s and ’70s, carried a Pentax camera as a quiet observer of a burgeoning cultural revolution. While helping to orchestrate careers that would define a generation, Friedman captured private moments—far from the glare of the stage lights—that reveal the human side of larger-than-life figures.
For nearly half a century, these evocative images lay forgotten, stored away in a box in Friedman’s attic. Their rediscovery has opened a time capsule to rock and roll’s golden age, preserving the personalities and quiet stories that shaped an entire cultural movement.
Michael Friedman, in an interview with News 12, shares: “They were lost for 50 years until a couple of years ago my wife found them in a box of old contracts and music business papers in our attic.”
The exhibition will run from January 15 through February 15, 2025, with a public reception on January 23, from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Attendees will have the unique opportunity to meet Friedman, hear firsthand accounts of the stories behind the photographs, and step into an era when music was revolutionizing the world.
For more information and to RSVP for the reception, visit https://www.ryeartscenter.org/unseen-rock-n-roll
