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Lot Essay
In 1966 Peter Langan became co-owner and chef of Odin's Restaurant on Devonshire Street. Langan lived in a nearby flat in Marylebone and the apartment below was rented by the artists Patrick Procktor, Patrick Caulfield, John Hoyland and David Hockney. Procktor became a regular at the restaurant and introduced Hockney to the restaurateur who was happy to exchange food for their pictures.
"To find a restaurant close at hand which was not only welcoming but extremely good, and to boot, that bought one's paintings in exchange for food, was a thrill both for David and for me. David introduced Ron Kitaj...and Peter's career as the most successful restaurateur of our time began." (Self Portrait with Friends: the selected Diaries of Cecil Beaton, 1926-74, R.Buckle (ed.), London, 1979, p.166.). Hockney's 1969 portrait depicts Langan seated in the small kitchen of Odin's, holding a glass Lowenbrau which he insisted on always drinking from a large brandy glass.
"To find a restaurant close at hand which was not only welcoming but extremely good, and to boot, that bought one's paintings in exchange for food, was a thrill both for David and for me. David introduced Ron Kitaj...and Peter's career as the most successful restaurateur of our time began." (Self Portrait with Friends: the selected Diaries of Cecil Beaton, 1926-74, R.Buckle (ed.), London, 1979, p.166.). Hockney's 1969 portrait depicts Langan seated in the small kitchen of Odin's, holding a glass Lowenbrau which he insisted on always drinking from a large brandy glass.