Lot 858: Quentin Crisp (1908-1999)

Classical figures before a tomb
bodycolour
15 x 25 in. (38.2 x 63.5 cm.)

Painted for Angus McBean in 1947 and hung in his Empire room, 12 Devonshire Terrace, Brighton between 1948-1950. Crisp painted a number of classical scenes for this room which he decorated with McBean.
Quentin Crisp (1908-1999) became a gay icon in the 1970s after his defiant refusal to conceal his sexuality.

Reknowned for his clever and often insightful witticisms, Crisp wrote several books of autobiography and social advice, including The Naked Civil Servant and The Wit and Wisdom of Quentin Crisp.

Moving to New York in the 1980s, he was the subject of Sting's hit song, Englishman in New York. Living in a small bedsit, Crisp supported himself by accepting social invitations and writing reviews. He famously had his address and telephone number listed in the New York directory and saw it as his duty to meet anyone who called him.

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