The wall text for “Don Bachardy: A Life in Portraits”—an exhibition at The Huntington featuring over 100 drawings and paintings—asserts that Bachardy persisted in creating portraits during a time when art was more experimental and less representational. I felt that unnecessary to mention, as if the artist was stuck in a time warp. Bachardy wasn’t interested in competing or participating in the art world, or discovering a new art movement. He was interested in people. And as this show proves, portraiture will always be relevant and pervasive—as long as there are humans around.
Bachardy’s ability to capture the likeness of his sitters is quite uncanny; he seems to get into the psyche of each individual. One example I can personally attest to is the painting of my friend John Fleck in 1995. I was startled at first when I spied him on the gallery walls, but boy did I know exactly who it was. An actor and performer, he’s known for his keen sense of humor. But there he was, somber with melancholic eyes and a pensive expression. Spare, quick, wide, brightly colored brushstrokes fill the face with hues not associated with flesh tones, such as blues or greens. A first layer of thin acrylic might drip down to the forehead, followed by a few more layers for shadows, while the highlights are the untouched canvas. Bachardy’s talent lies in reading a person and bringing them to life with only a few brushstrokes.
It should be noted that Bachardy’s reputation precedes him. His stature in Los Angeles is as artist and life partner of author Christopher Isherwood, a relationship deeply intertwined with his art. Their union was one of lore and admiration as a talented openly gay couple with a 30-year age gap—Bachardy was 18 when he met 49-year-old Isherwood. Each was vital to the other’s career as they collaborated on numerous projects and were each other’s muses.
Don Bachardy, “Bette Davis, 1973. Graphite
and ink on paper, 29 1/8 × 23 1/8 in. Don Bachardy Papers. The
Huntington Library, Art
Museum, and Botanical
Gardens. © Don Bachardy, 1973.
Guest curator Gregory Evan’s selection of the Huntington’s Bachardy and Isherwood archive highlights the lifestyle they led: a Hollywood power couple whose house guests (one presumes) show up in Bachardy’s portraits. The gallery walls are lined with portraits of literature heavyweights such as Capote, Auden, Baldwin, Burroughs, and Huxley, along with artists Hockney, Bacon, and Moses. Sprinkled in are intellectuals and Hollywood celebrities, including Bette Davis, whose reaction to one finished portrait was: “Yup, that’s the old bag.” The company they kept seems to lean toward the avant-garde and gay culture. Even a younger LA Times critic, Christopher Knight, makes an appearance.
This mini-survey exhibition consists of graphite, graphite-and-ink drawings, and acrylic paintings (along with some ephemera). While all mediums take on a life of their own, it’s the drawings that excel, and the genius of each is what is left unrendered. For example, in the first portrait one sees of famed author James Baldwin in 1964, it’s what is not included that really defines the piece. Bachardy homes in on Baldwin’s heavy-lidded eyes and his curled-up lip, but the rest of the face is formed by a faint ink brushstroke for his cheekbones, and a simple contour line for his shirt. There is more white space to the composition than the medium: This is Bachardy’s signature.
Bachardy’s seven-decade career is a testimony to his dedication to his craft. This exhibition is a mere snippet of his oeuvre, but a window to a portrait of the artist as a mature man.