John Lennon. “The Toy,” Calico Ghost Town, Calif., 1973. Photo by May Pang

See a photo of John Lennon signing the contract to dissolve the Beatles and the last known picture of him with Paul McCartney, then meet the woman who took them.

May Pang, who was John Lennon’s romantic partner and companion during an 18-month stretch of time in the mid ’70s, will be at Cove Street Arts in Portland this weekend with her pop-up exhibit, “The Lost Weekend: The Photography of May Pang,” featuring 35 candid photos of the musical icon that she took during their relationship.

Pang’s photographs will be available for purchase, and she’ll be there to share tales about Lennon, and to talk about the images.

Pang said in an interview that the most frequent question she gets asked during her show is “what was John Lennon like?”

Answering that one is tricky for her.

“It’s very difficult; it’s so broad. John used to say, ‘I’m like a chameleon,’ and he is, but what I’ve captured in these photos is just John. This is the John that I knew; this is the John not posed for any magazine, not posed for something that was going to be splashed in the newspapers. It’s really for me and for us,” said Pang.

A documentary film about the Pang and Lennon’s relationship, called  “The Lost Weekend: A Love Story,” was released in 2022 and recently became available to stream on Amazon Prime and YouTube.

“Father & Son” (Julian and John Lennon), Long Island Sound, New York, 1974. Photo by May Pang

Pang’s presence in Lennon’s life intersected with several key moments, including the recording of the song “Whatever Gets You Through the Night,” with Elton John, and the creation of the David Bowie song “Fame,” which he co-wrote with Lennon. You can also hear Pang whisper Lennon’s name in his song “#9 Dream.”

Pang, a lifelong New Yorker, took a liking to photography at a young age. When she was 17, Pang got her first real camera, a 35mm Nikon Nikkormat.

Pang said she is self-taught and sometimes would get advice from friends she’d see in Central Park. “I never had any formal training. It’s all done through my own eye and my own learning process.”

When asked if she has one photo in particular that’s a personal favorite, Pang mentioned a shot of Lennon she took during a 1974 trip to Ellenville, New York, in the Catskill Mountains.

The photograph shows Lennon on a leaf-covered trail wearing an off-white Irish sweater, blue cap and blue jeans. A pair of black dogs are also pictured.

Pang described the scene: “We’re walking up the trail, and it was actually 50 years ago around this time, and I just sort of dropped back because I thought what a great setting, and I was focusing, and when he got into frame, I just yelled out and he turned and that was the look.”

Photographer May Pang with her exhibit of John Lennon photos. Courtesy of May Pang

Lennon loved the photo so much that he asked to use it for the cover of the ’45 single of “Imagine” that was being released in England. Pang said, yes.

Cove Street Arts is at 71 Cove St. in Portland. See the exhibit from 4-7 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and on noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Head to covestreetarts.com for details.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK

There’s new Maine-made music coming out this week, plus a bunch of shows to look forward to. Here are the details:

• Maine singer, songwriter and pianist Genevieve Stokes’ full-length album, “With A Lightning Strike,” is out Friday on Atlantic Records. The album release show is on Oct. 19 at Portland House of Music.

• Monday Night Blues at Rock Harbor Brewery in Rockland presents a show from Bees Deluxe, a band fronted by British guitarist Conrad Warre. Expect a night of multi-genre tunes from a band that likes to call its style of music “acid blues.”

The set will feature originals and Bees Deluxe takes on tracks by Etta James, B.B. King, Burt Bacharach and Billie Holiday among others.  Admission to the Monday, Oct. 7 show is $20 cash at the door and the music starts at 7 p.m.

• Head to Blue in Portland on Tuesday, Oct. 8 for the next installment of the Songwriters in the Round series, hosted by local musicians Joel Thetford and Ben Cosgrove. Both will be performing, and singer-songwriters Melissa Joiner and Dave Dersham are the featured guests. The show starts at 8 p.m. and donations for the musicians will be accepted.

• Also on Tuesday, Oct. 8 is a show from Philly-based rock act Low Cut Connie. The band is fronted by Adam Weiner and is known for high-energy live shows. Low Cut Connie has put out eight albums since 2011. On Monday, the concert film/documentary “Art Dealers” was released. Tickets to the 21-plus show are $25. Get them at portlandhouseofmusic.com.