Art & Culture

David Bowie's life in pictures, now showing in NY, Los Angeles and Hawaii

Masayoshi Sukita | Morrison Hotel Gallery

Two years after his unexpected death, David Bowie is back on tour… sort of.

The iconic rocker has been making the rounds posthumously, in the form of highly curated multimedia exhibits on display in London and now setting up shop in the U.S. Next week, the Brooklyn Museum is set to premiere an exhibition that features Bowie in full rock star regalia; it will run until July 15.

For those who don't want to wait that long, the Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York, Los Angeles and Maui unveiled their own version this week, consisting of countless Bowie photographs taken during the height of a career that spanned decades. Unlike the photos expected to be on display in Brooklyn, all of the images featured at the Morrison Hotel Gallery's three geographical locations will be available for purchase.

The three exhibits — which Marcelle Murdock, director of the Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York, called "a tribute to the man, the myth and the iconic moments that forever changed the music world" — will be on display until March 23.

Below are a few snapshots from Bowie's music career, showcasing the star power that helped make the British rocker a global phenomenon.

Lodger

©Duffy Archive 1979

In a posthumous review of Bowie's "Lodger" album, music blog Pitchfork noted that the 10-song album was the first time the artist ever seemed "accessible, a character with flaws and frailties, petty thoughts and grocery lists; someone who doesn't just dabble in reality but lives in it."

Aladdin Sane

Duffy Archive

Bowie's sixth studio album turns 45 this year, and a remastered edition will be released on April 20. The rocker once confessed that "Aladdin Sane" was part of an effort to put his iconoclastic Ziggy Stardust persona to rest. "I didn't want to be trapped in this Ziggy character all my life. And I guess what I was doing on Aladdin Sane, I was trying to move into the next area," Rolling Stone reported in 2016.

'I thought David was pulling our leg'

Barrie Wentzell | Morrison Hotel Gallery

In a 1972 sit-down with music journalist Michael Watts for the music publication Melody Maker, Bowie openly declared that he was gay. "I thought David was 'pulling our leg' and it was just part of his new act with Ziggy," said photographer Barrie Wentzell, who accompanied Watts to the interview.

"This photo was used on the front page of the Melody Maker for the next week's issue, reversed so David is looking the other way," Wentzell said. "It caused a lot of talk and as David told me later, the publicity had made him, or rather Ziggy, a star."

'Rebel Rebel'

Barry Shultz | Morrison Hotel Gallery

Shown on the Dutch television show "Top Pop" in 1974, Bowie wore an eye-patch while playing "Rebel Rebel" from the album "Diamond Dogs." "He was late and did many takes and met us after the taping to do some more pictures with the press," recalled photographer Barry Shultz. "He was, as always, very gracious and kind."

'The Man Who Fell to Earth'

Geoff MacCormack | Morrison Hotel Gallery

In the 1976 movie cult classic, Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who poses as a human in order to save his planet from a drought. More than 40 years later, Bowie's first starring role is revered as an important science-fiction film, and a seminal part of his legacy.

Through the lens of Terry O'Neill

Terry O’Neill | Morrison Hotel Gallery

Between 1973 and 1976, famed British photographer Terry O'Neill took numerous exclusive photos of Bowie — including his final performance as Ziggy Stardust. Many of those rare and never-before-seen shots were published in a 2016 book called "Bowie by O'Neill."