American Beauty Grateful Dead Photography Exhibit Takes Manhattan

Probably the most photographed rock band of all time, the Grateful Dead, is the subject of a new exhibit in New York. 

“An American Beauty: Grateful Dead 1965-1995” covers three decades in the legendary jam-band’s history. Essential black & white, late 1960s images by Ron Rakow from the band’s home base in San Francisco, to Jay Blakesberg’s collection of early ’90s photos – a total of 33 images by 11 different artists.

Blakesberg and his daughter Ricki curated the exhibit, which was first displayed last summer at the David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles.  The current exhibit is at the Kordansky Gallery in New York on 520 W. 20 St at 10th Ave. and runs through August 7th.

“I’ve been part of this Grateful Dead world for a long time,” Jay says. “First as a fan, and then as a professional photographer. A lot of us Deadheads who were out there seeing shows started from the same place. We were documenting something organically from the inside as it was happening. I was just trying to capture the bliss that was in front of me.”

Ricky adds: “Bringing these works together in this setting highlights just how expansive and enduring the Grateful Dead legacy truly is. These images carry the spirit of a community that continues to resonate and grow across generations. Being part of that community and helping to archive and share its story is incredibly meaningful to me.”

The Blakesbergs also organized the Dead Forever Experience exhibit during Dead & Company‘s 2024 run at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

The gallery has a horseshoe layout, and the photos are displayed in chronological order, from the left side to the right. Of the 33 images, 16 are black & white. Some are large and others are smaller, stacked next to each other.

Standouts include:

Kirk West‘s wall-of-sound photo from the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines in 1974 shows the enormity of the band’s speaker setup. Guitarist Jerry Garcia is positioned at the left side of the stage (in later years he was at the right side). Rhythm guitarist Bob Weir is in the middle wearing a flannel shirt and jeans and bassist  Phil Lesh is to his right. There is only one drummer, Bill Kreutzmann, and Keith Godchaux is at the piano. 

Blakesburg’s 1991 portrait of Garcia, taken in San Rafael, CA, is a true classic. A similar image from that shoot in color appeared on the cover of High Times after Garcia’s death in 1995. (I wrote that cover story.) Already gray haired and bearded, Garcia was 49 when the photo was taken.

Elizabeth Sunflower‘s rare photo of Weir in jail in San Francisco in 1967 was taken on October 2, when two band members (also including keyboardist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan), managers and friends (a total of 11 people) were busted in the Dead’s famous Haight-Ashbury pad at 710 Ashbury St. for possessing over a pound of marijuana and hash. Garcia, Lesh and drummer Mickey Hart were not there when the fuzz made the cannabis collar. Weir and McKernan both pleaded guilty and paid fines in the range of $100-$200 each.

Among the color photos, highlights include:

Rakow’s portrait of Garcia and his then wife Mountain Girl (née Carolyn Adams) taken in Golden Gate Park in 1967 shows off Garcia’s colorful clothing choices and mop of hair as the couple displays affection to each other as they lay out on the grass. The Dead played many concerts in the Panhandle section of the park, which is down the block from Ashbury St. where they all originally lived.

Rosie McGee, who traveled with the band from 1966-1976, took this shot of Garcia talking to Merry Prankster Ken Kesey at the Newport Pop Festival in Costa Mesa, CA on August 4, 1968. The Dead were the house band at Kesey’s Acid Tests and close friends with the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest author. It’s unclear who else is in the photo.

Andy Leonard caught Garcia in action during the 1974 filming of The Grateful Dead Movie at Winterland in San Francisco. Garcia was pretty thin then; a close-up of his right hand reveals his missing middle finger.

The rest of the collection features group shots, individual portraits and live concerts. The other photographers are Adrian Boot, Suki Coughlin, Greg Gaar, Bob Minkin and Jon Sievert. 

A 12-page program guide is available to take with you as you walk through the gallery. However, labels are not placed next to each photo, which would’ve been helpful, Instead you have to peruse the guide. A real printed program would work better and serve as a collector’s item. 

The photos at the gallery are compiled in a book, An American Beauty: Grateful Dead 1965-1995. The hardcover version is available for sale at the exhibit, as well as at other online booksellers like Amazon. 

A Deadhead himself, gallery owner Kordansky notes: “These photographs tell the story of an entire culture, but they also speak to the individual lives of the musicians, the photographers and the many Deadheads who have charted our lives alongside the Dead’s music and shows. With Bob Weir’s death in January 2026, it’s become all the more important to continue the legacy of what the Dead and its many tributaries have been nourishing all these years. Twentieth – and now Twenty-First – century American art, and culture, are incomplete without these stories.”

Steve Bloom is a contributing writer of The Other. Subscribe to his CelebStoner Newsletter at Patreon.