Just as we were thinking there was little “B” in LGBT History Month, an exhibition opens at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool this month, showcasing portraits of bisexual raconteur and jazz musician George Melly, by artist Maggi Hambling. Born in Liverpool in 1926, George was a prolific jazz and blues singer, art critic and writer. He was open about having relationships with both men and women, and Hambling, who is also openly lesbian, was one of his closest friends.
Hambling’s portraits reflect the later part of Melly’s life and his death in 2007, following similar works depicting the deaths of her father and her muse, Henrietta Moraes. She writes: “I loved and worked from life with all three and so the fact of death did not kill my desire to paint them. One by one they have inhabited me. George often makes a grand appearance in my dreams. I still hear him laugh, tell jokes and sing. From wherever he may be…”
George Always: Portraits of George Melly by Maggi Hambling
Walker Art Gallery, William Brown St, Liverpool, L3 8EL
27 February – 31 May 2009
