The Christopher Isherwood Foundation aims to preserve the creative legacy of the Anglo-American writer Christopher Isherwood and the American painter Don Bachardy by keeping their work available to the public in published and unpublished form and by promoting through any appropriate means the enjoyment and study of their work and the unique way of life which allowed them to produce it.
DON BACHARDY
A LIFE IN PORTRAITS
April 12 – August 4, 2025
MaryLou and George Boone Gallery, The Huntington Library
Don Bachardy (b. 1934) is known for creating distinctive portraits of generations of artistic, literary, and film personalities. The exhibition will include more than 100 graphite and acrylic works on paper, many of which have never been exhibited, as well as contextualizing archival materials including letters and photographs. The portraits and archival materials are drawn from Bachardy’s archive at The Huntington, select loans from private collections, and Christopher Isherwood’s papers, which Bachardy placed at The Huntington in 1999. The exhibition is curated by Dennis Carr, Virginia Steele Scott Chief Curator of American Art at The Huntington, and Karla Nielsen, senior curator of literary collections at The Huntington, with guest curator Gregory Evans. The Huntington will publish an illustrated catalog with essays to accompany the exhibition.