The biological child of Paul and Linda McCartney, the member of the Beatles and professional photographer respectively; Mary McCartney, followed the path of photography like her mother. Mary has a half sister, Heather McCartney, older to her. She is a fashion designer and has been photographed by Mary. A photograph of Mary McCartney as a baby taken by her mother became very popular. The photo was on the back cover of McCartney otherwise known as Cherries, Paul’s initial solo album. Mary is enthusiastic towards animal protection and rights like her family.
From 1992, Mary started taking professional photographs, specializing in fashion and portrait photography. Since her mother died of breast cancer, Mary campaigned to spread awareness for breast cancer in the United Kingdom. Thus, Cherie Blair, wife of Tony Blair, former prime minister of UK, befriended Mary. Due to this, the photographer got a chance to click the official picture of the prime minister and his family. Prior to this, the most recognized photos by Mary were of her mother’s, weeks before her death.
In addition, Mary has taken portrait photographs of Jude Law (English director, film producer and actor), Ralph Fiennes (actor) and Sam Taylor-Wood (photographer, visual artist and filmmaker).
Off Pointe: A photographic study of the royal ballet after hours, was Mary’s first public exhibition. Pictures of the member of The Royal Ballet in London, were included. They were off stage photos depicting the contrast between their demanding lives and fairytale performances.
The TV documentary, Wingspan in 2001, was produced by Mary. It was based on the story of her father’s career in music after the Beatles breakup, with a focus on Wings, her parent’s band. Mary McCartney is associated with MPL Communication created by Paul McCartney and the documentary was produced by this company.
Melanie Chisholm (British actress, businesswoman, singer and song writer), former Spice Girl hired Mary in 2005 to be her album’s, Beautiful Intentions, official photographer. Later, she was asked to direct the video of Better Alone.
Just like her mother, Mary carried out her legacy in food choice. Mary McCartney is a vegetarian and hence she also wrote a vegan recipe book, named Food, in 2012. In the same year when her book was published, Mary worked in collaboration with Vertu – a luxurious mobile phone manufacturer in Britain and with a charity organization, Smile Train. Mary traveled to Volgograd and Beijing to photograph the four children who have benefited from Smile Train. The Smile project photos were exhibited in London in June.
She has had seven solo exhibitions – Off Pointe (2004, 2005, 2007), Playing Dress Up (2007), Backup (2007), British Style Observed (2008), Collective Works (2009), From Where I Stand (2010, 2011, 2012) and Developing (2013); and four group shows – Schweppes Photographic Portrait Show (1995), 31 Studio EXPOSED, Platinum Prints (2004), Strength and Beauty Embodied by Avant-Garde Women (2007) and Gay Icons (2009).
Mary McCartney’s work focuses on rare moments. Her photographs capture the creative intimacy between her subjects and herself. Pictures taken by her are as powerful as the subject matter is and in fact much more striking and convincing. Her talent encapsulates the qualities, history and stimulations of her photography subjects.
Her work has appeared in Interview Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar. She also worked in impactful advertising campaigns for Aga, Asus, Adidas, Mandarin Oriental and Galaxy.
