11 April 2014
The exhibition ‘Under the Influence: John Deakin and the Lure of Soho’ opened last night at The Photographers’ Gallery in London. We were delighted to celebrate our latest title, published to coincide with the exhibition, with a launch at the French House in Soho’s Dean Street. Formerly known as The York Minster, the legendary pub celebrates its centenary this year. The headquarters of General Charles de Gaulle and the Free French during the Second World War, the establishment became a focal point for Deakin and his circle of Soho friends and drinking partners in the 1950s and 1960s. Deakin’s photographs of many of its regulars appear in the publication, among them Francis Bacon, Jeffrey Bernard, Daniel Farson, Lucian Freud and Henrietta Moraes. Click here for more information about the book.
All photographs of the occasion are by Peter Clark, official photographer for the French House and heir to Deakin as chronicler of Soho life.