Baron Wolman

Iconic Images

Baron Wolman ranks among the 20th Century’s elite and most collectible photographers. As the first photographer for Rolling Stone, he was granted unique access to rock & roll’s emerging icons, from Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin to Jimi Hendrix and The Who.

Wolman’s reputation with a camera, plus his eye for talent and a story, gave him a ticket to ride on tour buses from Haight-Ashbury to Woodstock. His cover stories launched legends such as Tina Turner and James Taylor and gave him the keys to the dressing rooms and homes of rock & roll’s biggest stars.

But Wolman also kept a sharp eye out for the shifts in youth-inspired fashion and culture. He was the first to identify—and photograph—the emerging groupie phenomenon, befriending the girls and persuading them to pose for historic portraits that captured the freedom and style of young women newly liberated by the pill, fashion and music.

Ever vigilant for a cover story, he recognized the need to chronicle other emerging talent—young guns of literature, art and jazz. Wolman spotted and photographed the tectonic cultural shift of San Francisco's Summer Of Love that heralded the age of the hippie. He even started his own magazine, Rags, to explore the scene as the phrase “turn on, tune in, drop out” became the global mantra for a generation.

Few living photographers rode the roller coaster of the Sixties alongside the icons of that age.