A Fridge for a Picasso is a highly entertaining autobiography which begins during the Blitz in London where John Jesse grew up under the same roof as Francis Bacon. He later attended experimental schools, joined the army, and subsequently studied Fine Art.
Swapping his Picasso for a fridge turns out to be the catalyst that inspires him to be a dealer and, in the early sixties, he sets up a stall in Portobello Market. Through a series of coincidences he becomes the first member of the trade to specialise in the then misunderstood and neglected style of Art Nouveau, inciting a passerby to hiss ‘How dare you lower the tone of Portobello Road!’ Undaunted, John Jesse soon moves on to an even more outrageous period: the 1920s which, at his suggestion, is given the name Art Deco. After two years he opens his gallery John Jesse on Kensington Church Street, which becomes a fashionable destination for pop idols, film stars and artists: Sir Paul McCartney, Luchino Visconti, Rudolf Nureyev, Elizabeth Taylor, Charles Handley-Read, Andy Warhol, Lucian Freud, Brad Pitt and even on one occasion Dame Edna Everage.
Often gaffe prone, he owns up to some hilarious amorous disasters, including provoking an unusual response from Germaine Greer when he attempts to play footsie with her under the table.
John Jesse treats life as an adventure; addicted to hunting for merchandise, buying at auctions, searching flea markets… always in the pursuit of style.
With dedication, hard work and his unerring eye for the obscure and unique, he establishes himself as a leading dealer of Twentieth Century Decorative Arts, becoming well known to collectors and museums worldwide.
The book is full of racy anecdotes and is richly illustrated with Jesse’s drawings and photographs of the wonderful pieces he unearthed and exhibited in his Notting Hill Gate gallery.
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Author: John Jesse
ISBN: 978-0-9575568-8-1 Publication Date: 30th Sept 2014 Pages: 255
Type: Hardback
Size: 210x140mm
RPP: £15.00
Distributor: Central Books Muswell Press Ltd www.muswell-press.co.uk