John Severson took this photo in 1961 of Paul Gebauer at Sunset Beach, Oahu. Paul Gebauer was an Oahu surf legend of the early 1960’s. The photo depicts Gebauer’s easy style on a massive Sunset wave.

John Severson’s vintage photos are of the big wave riders from the late 50's and early 60's printed in black and white. In the 1950’s Severson became the first person to create a large body of art relating to the Hawaii-California surf culture. Founder of Surfer Magazine, the Surfing Hall-of-Fame surf culture icon, was a pro surfer, turned filmmaker, before turning his time to surf photography and a multifaceted range of art including; oil paintings, watercolors, drawings and prints. He has called Maui home for over 30 years. John Severson’s art is collected throughout the world and he is considered a premier surf culture artist who has helped define and chronicle the sport since 1956.