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Six original photographs documenting the immediate aftermath of John Lennon’s assassination outside the Dakota in New York City on December 8, 1980, photographed by Colin Payne for the London Daily Express. The lot contains three original semi-glossy silver gelatin photographs, ranging in size from 9.25 x 6.5 to 9 x 6.75, depicting scenes outside the Dakota: a distraught man seated in the roadway with his head in his hands; police, photographers, and onlookers gathered at the building’s entrance; a New York police official addressing a dense group of reporters following the shooting. All three bear handwritten captions on the reverse, each dated 8/12/1980. Included is a glossy 10 x 7.5 press photo of police stationed at the Dakota’s gated entrance, which retains its original typed Daily Express caption strip, identifying it as a “Pic special for London Daily Express” by Colin Payne and describing the scene as the gate where Lennon was fatally shot.
Also included are two original glossy 10 x 8 contact sheets containing 52 exposures from Payne’s coverage, providing an extensive visual record of the scene around the Dakota. The sequences document the building and its entrance, crowds gathered behind police barricades, uniformed officers securing the area, press activity, a police briefing, and individual reactions among those assembled outside. Several frames bear period editorial-selection markings. In overall fine condition, with light edgewear and some creases, and a trimmed bottom edge to the press photo.
John Lennon was shot four times in the back shortly before 11:00 p.m. on December 8, 1980, as he and Yoko Ono returned to the Dakota from a recording session at the Record Plant. The gunman, Mark David Chapman, had waited outside the building for much of the day and had obtained Lennon's autograph on a copy of Double Fantasy hours earlier. Chapman remained at the scene and was taken into custody by responding police. Lennon was transported to Roosevelt Hospital in a police cruiser and was pronounced dead at approximately 11:15 p.m. The shooting drew immediate crowds of press, police, and stunned onlookers to the Dakota's entrance, the scene documented in the present photographs.
