CITYist

“Saturday Night Live” has been a New York relic since the 1970’s, and just as infamous are the portraits of each episode’s host and musical guest that pop up after commercial breaks. For over a decade, photographer Mary Ellen Matthews has been responsible for these shots, and for the first time in SNL history, the collection of images will be shown at John Varvatos on Bowery, formerly (of course) that other New York relic: CBGB’s.

All shot in Matthew’s distinctive style, the portraits feature SNL favorites (including the ones who arguably saved it, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell) the musical guests (Green Day, Mick Jagger, U2) and an array of hosts (Jude Law, Alec Baldwin and Peyton Manning, to name just a few). The show begins May 10th and only runs until August 3rd, so be sure to take a walk down Bowery before this little piece of television nostalgia returns back to the NBC archives.