An exhibition of portraits by Don Bachardy will be shown for the first time at g169 gallery, with an opening reception on Saturday, November 13 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Santa Monica Canyon gallery, 169 W. Channel Rd. in Santa Monica Canyon. Known for his extraordinary deft, fluid and graphically concise style, Bachardy has rendered such figures as Aldous Huxley, Ana’s Nin and Dorothy Parker, as well as the official portrait of Governor Jerry Brown (the first time), which hangs in the State Capitol. Commenting on his approach to portraiture, Bachardy said, ‘I have obeyed my early, instinctive urge to complete each work I do in a single sitting. The departure of my sitter is like the breaking of a spell. I never alter any detail of the work I’ve done once the sitting has ended.’ A Santa Monica Canyon resident, Bachardy met his lifetime partner, author Christopher Isherwood, in 1953 and remained with him until Isherwood’s death in 1986. In 2005, Bachardy was given a retrospective exhibition of his portraits at the Huntington Library, which owns the complete archives of Isherwood. Most recently, Bachardy made a cameo appearance in the movie based on Isherwood’s book ‘A Single Man.’ In a 2009 interview with Angeleno Magazine, Bachardy said ‘Chris got the idea for that book when he and I were having a domestic crisis. We’d been together 10 years. I was making a lot of trouble and wondering if I shouldn’t be on my own. Chris was going through a very difficult period as well. So he killed off my character, Jim, in the book and imagined what his life would be without me.’ Bachardy still lives in Isherwood’s canyon home, where he paints portraits for gallery shows and on a commission basis. Complimentary valet service and refreshments will be served at the g169 reception.
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