Candid photos of John Lennon and Yoko Ono listening to the ground using stethoscope while exploring New York in 1971 emerge for sale for £9,000
- The rare photos of ex-Beatle John Lennon and artist wife Yoko Ono set to go under the hammer at auction
- Black and white images include the pair posing in front of statues and holding a stethoscope to the ground
- They were taken by photographer Iain MacMillan who also took the image of the Beatles crossing Abbey Road
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A rare contact sheet of candid photos of John Lennon and Yoko Ono exploring New York City in the 1970s has emerged for sale.
The Beatle and his artist wife are seen posing in front of a statue at a park in one of the throwback black and white images.
In others they also take turns listening to the ground using a stethoscope.
John Lennon and his artist wife Yoko Ono pose in front of an eagle statue in New York City in the incredible images taken by photographer Iain Macmillan up for sale from auctioneers Bonhams later this year, starting at £9,000
The married couple look as though they have dressed in military garb in the images from the 1970s from a trip to New York City, captured by photographer Iain MacMillan
Lennon, then aged 31, is in a casual shirt and trousers, while Ono, who was seven years older, is in a dark top and short shorts.
The 20ins by 16ins sheet features 12 pictures taken by celebrated British photographer Iain MacMillan in 1971.
He was close friends with the couple and stayed with them in New York that year.
The contact sheet is going under the hammer with auctioneers Bonhams, of London, at a price of £9,000.
Claire Tole-Moir, specialist at Bonhams, said: “Iain MacMillan was close friends with John and Yoko and stayed with them for quite some time in New York in 1971.
John Lennon, 31 at the time, stoops down to hold a stethoscope to the floor as he pulled on a pair of sunglasses in one of the images of the former Beatle taken nearly a year after the Fab Four broke up in 1970
Part of New York City’s famous skyline can be seen in this image of another angle of John Lennon holding a stethoscope to the ground of a war memorial in the city’s limits in 1971
Yoko One then takes a turn also listening to the ground in the photo taken by Iain MacMillan in 1971 which auctioneers Bonhams believe may have some kind of spiritual meaning
“I believe these photos of them in a New York park were taken for the Imagine album.
“It is possible them ‘listening to the ground’ had some kind of spiritual meaning.
The images are part of the MacMillan Archive which is being auctioned off and also includes photos of the supermodel Twiggy and the musician Brian Jones.
The couple stoop down together in this image from the collection taken in New York City, possibly for Lennon’s Imagine album, released about three months after these images were taken by the photographer who also took the iconic image of the Beatles crossing Abbey Road
Lennon and Ono first met at an art exhibition in London in 1966 and they married in 1969, months after she had divorced Anthony Cox.
They remained together until he was murdered by Mark David Chapman outside of their New York apartment in 1980.
MacMillan also took the iconic image of the Beatles crossing Abbey Road.
The sale takes place on February 25.