05 May Jill Bennett Kensington London 1982

This portrait was taken circa 1982 in the house of The R Hon Lady Aitken. We were there for a picnic with theatre designer Hugh Durrant, who was friends with Lady Aitken and he was my connection to the group. I hadn’t been invited but gate crashed the intimate gathering.  Below is the story I wrote about the shoot, it’s the exact piece from 1982 and it’s funny to see I wrote Jill’s name incorrectly and seeing how I saw myself then and the language I use, it’s blush-makingingly pretentious but very funny.  Jill arrived with a battered face but was evasive as to how it happened. Was it her husband John Osborne ? Or a random street attack? It seemed rude to press her as to how & why, so we got on with the picnic – though we stayed indoors as Jill didn’t want to be seen in public.

Also below is a press clipping sent to me by Alan Stuart, who is researching a biography of Jill. It shows a comment between Jill and John Osborne about the picture.