In the mid-1990s, Olivia Harrison, widow of former Beatles guitarist George Harrison, made a remarkable discovery in the Butler’s pantry of Friar Park, the couple’s neo-Gothic estate near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. As she opened a cupboard, numerous boxes filled with photographic transparencies spilled onto the floor. The collection had been amassed over decades by George Harrison, who was a passionate and prolific photographer, though he had never organized his work systematically.

George Harrison, who passed away from lung cancer in 2001 at the age of 58, largely focused on living in the moment during his lifetime rather than preserving his personal history. Olivia Harrison has since taken on the task of copying and curating these images, a process she has continued well after his death.

Now 78, Olivia has assembled an extensive selection from this private photographic collection into a new book titled *The Third Eye*. The images trace George Harrison’s rapid transformation from a young man in Liverpool to an internationally recognized musician and cultural figure. While many of the photographs show Harrison behind the camera, the collection also includes self-portraits and pictures taken by others of him.

Some of the earliest images date back to the 1960s, such as a 1964 mirror selfie taken with his Asahi Pentax camera during a visit to Tahiti, where he traveled under the alias “Mr Hargreaves,” accompanied by his then-girlfriend Pattie Boyd, who went by “Miss Bond.” These candid moments offer insight into Harrison’s efforts to maintain a private sense of self amid intense public scrutiny. Olivia Harrison explained that photography was a way for George to assert his individuality, stating that “when you’re public property from an early age, you don’t have that.”

The unpublished photographs reveal a more intimate side of Harrison’s life and character, highlighting his desire to cope with the pressures of fame by documenting personal experiences through his camera lens. Olivia’s work to preserve and share this visual archive provides a new perspective on the legacy of one of the Beatles’ most influential members.