“This shot of Jimi smoking has become one of the most famous images of the great musician ever taken. Jimi laughed a great deal and had a great sense of humour; however the look of the time was for everybody to be sullen and moody, but in spite of that a lot of my favourite photos have caught Jimi smiling.” – Gered Mankowitz

Gered Mankowitz had decided not to shoot any colour for the two sessions he had had with Jimi. He believed that black and white would convey a seriousness to the portraits. Regretting this in the years that followed, he decided to breathe new life into the portraiture – colouring his black and white archival materials through experimentation with computer technology and based on his memories of the sessions in 1967.

This Archival lambda photograph has been signed & numbered by Gered Mankowitz. The front of the paper bears an embossment of Gered’s official archive stamp. This print is from an edition of 25.