Muriel Belcher (1908–1979) was an English nightclub owner and artist's model who founded and managed the private drinking club

The Colony Room The Colony Room Club was a private members' drinking club at 41 Dean Street, Soho, London. It was founded and presided over by Muriel Belcher from its inception in 1948 until her death in 1979. The artist Francis Bacon was a founder and lifelo ...

. The club opened in 1948 at 41

Dean Street Dean Street is a street in Soho, central London, running from Oxford Street south to Shaftesbury Avenue. Historical figures and places In 1764 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then a young boy, gave a recital at 21 Dean Street. Admiral Nelson stayed ...

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

, London and became known as "Muriel's". Its long term popularity amongst London's

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

s lasted for 60 years and is widely credited to the exclusivity resulting from Belcher's charisma, strong personality and daunting door policy as "a tough, sharp-tongued veteran of the Soho drinking club scene". Belcher was the model and muse for a number of paintings, including several single panels and

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

s by

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

, who was one of the club's first members and used his fame to draw early clientele. His portrait of her, ''Seated Woman (Portrait of Muriel Belcher)'', sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

in Paris in December 2007 for €13.7 million. Over time, the club was frequented by people such as

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. He was born in Berlin, the son of Jewis ...

George Melly Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for ''The Observer''; he also lectured on art history, with an e ...

Jeffrey Bernard Jeffrey Joseph Bernard (; 27 May 1932 – 4 September 1997) was an English journalist, best known for his weekly column "Low Life" in ''The Spectator'' magazine, and also notorious for a feckless and chaotic career and life of alcohol abu ...

and the

Kray Twins Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Engl ...

. The club saw a resurgence in the early 1990s during the

Young British Artists The Young British Artists, or YBAs—also referred to as Brit artists and Britart—is a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London in 1988. Many of the YBA artists graduated from the BA Fine Art course at Goldsm ...

boom in the early 1990s, before eventually closing in 2008, some 29 years after her death.

Career

The Colony Room

Belcher had earlier run a club called the Music-box in

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She managed to secure a 3pm-to-11pm drinking licence for the Colony Room bar as a private members' club, whereas public houses had to close at 2:30pm. Francis Bacon was a founding member, walking in the day after it opened in 1948. He was "adopted" by Belcher as a "daughter" and allowed free drinks and £10 a week to bring in friends and rich patrons. The club gained notoriety for its décor and clientele; its bilious green walls were as famous as the club itself. In addition to its vile colour, the staircase that led to the establishment was described as foul-smelling and flanked by dustbins. The Room was operated by Belcher between opening and her death in 1979. The

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Gui ...

website says of the Colony Room, "The Colony Room was one of many drinking clubs in Soho. The autocratic and temperamental owner Muriel Belcher created an ambiance which suited those who thought of themselves as misfits or outsiders." According to

Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British-American author and journalist who wrote or edited over 30 books (including five essay collections) on culture, politics, and literature. Born and educated in England, ...

, "Muriel, arguably the rudest person in England ("shut up cunty and order some more champagne"), almost never left her perch at the corner of the bar and was committed to that form of humour that insists on referring to all gentlemen as ladies."

Model

Her sexuality attracted many gay men to the club, many of them brought to the club by her

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n girlfriend, Carmel Stuart. She had a knack for attracting or discovering interesting and colourful people, and the patronage of men like

and Bacon helped to establish the Colony Room's close-knit community.

Lady Rose McLaren Lady Rose Mary Primrose McLaren (née Paget; 21 July 1919 – 1 November 2005) was a British aristocrat, the fourth daughter of the 6th Marquess of Anglesey. The Paget family (the Marquesses of Anglesey) resided in Plas Newydd and Beaudesert ...

, one of Bacon's friends, was a habituée of the club in her London days. Belcher was also famous for her rudeness, a trait which rubbed off onto the club and became part of its culture. Her favourite word was "

cunt ''Cunt'' () is a vulgar word for the vulva or vagina. It is used in a variety of ways, including as a term of disparagement. Reflecting national variations, ''cunt'' can be used as a disparaging and obscene term for a woman in the United Stat ...

", and this she delivered in distinctive and ringing tones. According to Belcher, "cunt" was a term of abuse, "cunty" a term of affection. Her ultimate accolade and sign of acceptance was the endearment "Mary".

Death and reputation

After Belcher's death, the club continued under the stewardship of her long-term barman

Ian Board Ian David Archibald Board (16 December 1929 – 26 June 1994) was an English nightclub owner who ran The Colony Room Club in Dean Street in London's Soho district, from 1981 to 1994, having taken it over from Muriel Belcher who founded the priv ...

, known as Ida, until his death in 1994. In turn, it then passed to his veteran barman Michael Wojas, and from him to

Dick Bradsell Richard Arthur Bradsell (4 May 1959 – 27 February 2016) was a British bartender noted for his innovative work with cocktails, including the creation of many new drinks now considered to be modern classics. ''The Observer'' described him as th ...

. Until it closed, the Colony Room remained popular with artists of all types, in particular those who had come to be known as

(YBAs), including

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...

Sarah Lucas Sarah Lucas (born 1962) is an English artist. She is part of the generation of Young British Artists who emerged during the 1990s. Her works frequently employ visual puns and bawdy humour by incorporating photography, collage and found objects. ...

and

Tracey Emin Tracey Karima Emin, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Associate of the Royal Academy, RA (; born 3 July 1963) is a British artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawi ...

. Belcher was portrayed by

Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...

John Maybury John Maybury (born 25 March 1958) is an English filmmaker and artist. He first came to prominence as the director of the music video for the Pet Shop Boys 1984 single "West End Girls". In 2005 he was named as one of the 100 most influential gay ...

's 1999 film '' Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon''.Pulver, Andrew.
All Tilda Swinton's films ranked
. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 16 January 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2022

References

Sources

* Farson, Daniel. ''The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon''. London: Vintage, 1994. * Muir, Robin. "A Maverick Eye". London: Thames & Hudson, 2002. * Peppiatt, Michael. ''Francis Bacon in the 1950s''. London: Yale University Press, 2006. * Peppiatt, Michael. ''Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1996.

External links

60th birthday essay by Sophie ParkinFootage of the Colony Room Club in 1965
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belcher, Muriel 1908 births 1979 deaths English LGBT people Bartenders Nightclub managers 20th-century LGBT people