The U.S. Postal Service honored Linda McCartney (1941–1998), with a pane of stamps featuring her still life and landscape images. McCartney had a multifaceted career as a photographer, musician, cookbook author and animal rights activist who was a pivotal figure in the vegetarianism movement. A dedication ceremony for the stamps was held at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Born Linda Louise Eastman on September 24, 1941, in Scarsdale, NY, she graduated from Scarsdale High School and attended Vermont College, where she received an associate’s degree in 1961. She then studied art history at the University of Arizona, where she began taking photographs after studying with prominent photographer Hazel Larsen Archer. Linda married musician Paul McCartney on March 12, 1969. They had three children together, and one from her previous marriage. Linda McCartney the first person to both photograph a cover and grace the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. In 1971, she joined the band Wings, playing keyboards and providing vocals, earning two Grammy Awards and selling millions of albums before breaking up in 1981.
Linda published a series of cookbooks dedicated to her transition to being a vegetarian and being an animal rights advocate. She was a spokesperson for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and a supporter of environmental groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, McCartney is also credited as one of the largest drivers of the meat-free movement.
In 1995, McCartney was diagnosed with breast cancer. She passed away April 17, 1998. Her solo album, “Wide Prairie,” was then released posthumously.
Postmaster General David Steiner remarked, “Linda McCartney’s life and work represents the best of what the USPS stamp program seeks to recognize: art that endures…art that enriches…art that uplifts people and art that is universal.” Steiner continued, “And of course, across every part of her life — art, music, and advocacy — Linda led with her heart. And that’s the legacy we hope these stamps capture.”
The Postmaster General was joined by daughter Mary McCartney who remarked, ‘She was a pioneer, she was definitely ahead of her time, but none of it was planned and conscious. It all came from the heart.”
The pane of 20 stamps showcases five different photographs taken by McCartney.
“Shadow. Sussex,” 1984 — a black-and-white photo of a horse in the snow standing on its hind legs
“Sunflowers,” mid 1990’s - color image of an arrangement of sunflowers and other brightly colored flowers on a grey weathered wooden table.
“Through a Glass Teapot,” 1996 — a black-and-white photo of a half-full glass teapot, with the inverted reflection of a tree in the glass
“Carnation. Sussex,” 1985 — a still life of a single yellow carnation in a vase against a white lace curtain with flowers
“Cherries, Antigua” — taken in 1969 from the same photo shoot as the cover art from her husband’s 1970 debut solo album, “McCartney.”
The selvage features “Self Portrait,” a 1992 black-and-white self-portrait of McCartney behind her camera. Derry Noyes, an art director for the USPS, designed the stamps and stamp pane using McCartney’s photographs.
Linda McCartney stamps are being shared with the hashtag #LindaMcCartneyStamps
