Peter Langan - head on fists at table

Dublin-born Patrick Procktor formed part of the now famous group of artists selected by Bryan Robertson for the New Generation exhibition in the Whitechapel Gallery in 1964, which included David Hockney, Bridget Riley, Patrick Caulfield and Allen Jones. The success of the show launched his career and introduced him to many potential patrons, creating the basis of a group of friends which included David Hockney, R. B. Kitaj, Francis Bacon and Cecil Beaton. The heady days of the mid-to-late-sixties saw the great, the good, and the wild come together at Procktor's studio and salon at 26 Manchester Street in Marylebone to drink, discuss art and paint on his bedroom walls. It was at 26 Manchester Street that Procktor first met Langan, who had rooms in the same building. It was the beginning of a fast and in the end turbulent relationship, which saw Procktor painting many works for Langan, designing the menus for the restaurants and culminating in Langan commissioning Procktor to paint murals of Venice on the walls of the first floor of Langan's Brasseries in 1976, as discussed by Brian Sewell in the introduction to this catalogue.
Procktor was also involved in the acquisition of Odin's, through his unlikely marriage to Kirsten Benson, a neighbour of both Procktor's and Langan's at Manchester Street. She and her husband owned and ran Odin's, already established as a restaurant frequented by a dazzling mix of artists and celebrities. Openly homosexual Procktor married Kirsten in 1973 after her husband died in a traffic accident and they had a son. At the same time, Kirsten sold Odin's to Langan, continuing to build on the latter's portfolio of restaurants. Langan carried on the mantle of Odin's reputation and enhanced it with his own flair and passion.
The present lot was used for the Langan's menu.