Stuart Kelly

John Deakin: the perfect anti-hero of the tawdry Soho scene

The photographer never attempted to show anyone in a good light, making his portraits of Francis Bacon and other Soho habitués look like dress rehearsals for morgue shots

‘Untitled I’: photograph of Francis Bacon by John Deakin, 1967. [© John Deakin/Courtesy of the John Deakin Archive]
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  • Pariah Genius: John Deakin and the Soho Court around Francis Bacon

    Iain Sinclair

    Cheerio Publishing, pp. 325, £19

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