Unseen Amy Winehouse Photos Go On Show At The Jewish Museum

By Zoe Craig Last edited 130 months ago
Unseen Amy Winehouse Photos Go On Show At The Jewish Museum
Amy Winehouse. Photographer unknown © The Winehouse family
Amy Winehouse. Photographer unknown © The Winehouse family
Festival passes, various dates. © The Jewish Museum/The Winehouse family
Festival passes, various dates. © The Jewish Museum/The Winehouse family
A young Amy outside her Nan’s flat in Southgate. Photographer unknown © The Winehouse family
A young Amy outside her Nan’s flat in Southgate. Photographer unknown © The Winehouse family

A couple of days before her death in 2011, Amy Winehouse invited her dad round. Together they looked through a battered suitcase of Amy's stuffed with photos of her friends and family. It was the last time he saw her.

This suitcase and the photos are now going on display at London's Jewish Museum, as part of an exhibition of the late singer's personal belongings and more family photos. Called Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait, the show is curated by Amy's brotherAlex and sister-in-law Riva, and aims to be a personal and intimate tribute to the star.

The pair gave the museum access to some of Amy's most treasured belongings, including her guitar, record collection and her iconic outfits, including the Luella Bartley dress she wore at Glastonbury in 2008.  They've also shared many unseen photos of Amy's family life, revealing her strong Jewish heritage as well as her close family relationships. Friday night dinners and Alex's barmitzvah are captured in these pictures, as well as their glamorous grandmother Cynthia (she dated Ronnie Scott: who knew?) — who might've been the inspiration for Amy's distinctive style.

Talking about the show, Alex says, "Amy was incredibly proud of her Jewish-London roots. Whereas other families would go to the seaside on a sunny day, we'd always go down to the East End. That was who we were, and what we were. We weren't religious, but we were traditional. I hope, in this most fitting of places, that the world gets to see this other side not just to Amy, but to our typical Jewish family."

Amy spent most of her childhood in Southgate before moving to Camden Town, where the Jewish Museum is located.

Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait runs from 3 July to 15 September at The Jewish Museum, Raymond Burton House, 129-131 Albert Street, London, NW1 7NB. Tickets cost £7.50 (adults), £6.50 (concs), £3.50 (child aged 5-16).  The museum is open Sun-Wed, 10am-5pm; Thursdays, 10am–9pm; and Fri 10am-2pm. Late night Thursdays, between 5-9pm, tickets cost just £3.50. See jewishmuseum.org.uk/Amy for more information.

Last Updated 16 May 2013