In the summer of 1967, nearly 100,000 young Americans gathered in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in San Francisco for free love, free food and free drugs. It was the largest pilgrimage of youth to date — but there was no concert lineup, no public speaker, no violent protest. They were gathered for the sake of gathering. It was called the "Summer of Love."
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Robert Altman, not to be confused with the film director, was both a participant in and a documentarian of the 1960s counterculture — a photographer of free-love fests and Black Panther protests. Altman, who studied photography under Ansel Adams, was chief staff photographer of Rolling Stone magazine from 1969-71, and amassed a portfolio that visually defines the era. His photos include rock stars such as The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, and Crosby, Stills & Nash, as well as scenes of 1960s youth culture.
Beginning today, photographs from his book The Sixties will be displayed in the Art Under Glass retrospective in New York City. The massive prints can be seen in the Macy's Herald Square windows on Broadway and 34th Street through June 8.
To learn more about Altman and his 1960s photography, listen to this interview.
Watch the PBS American Experience documentary to learn more about the Summer of Love.
Claire O'Neill
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