Patrick Procktor: Stages Celebrated Across the Press

That renewed attention was evident across the press. The Week Magazine described the exhibition as “a truly must-see, museum-quality exhibition”, emphasising the extraordinary range of Procktor’s practice, from the graphic intensity of his early 1960s paintings to the ethereal lightness of his later work. The magazine highlighted the “live-wire delicacy” of his draughtsmanship and his ability to bring subjects “screaming into the display space”.

Additionally, the latest issue of The Royal Academy of Arts Magazine featured writer and curator Ian Massey on the ground-breaking work of Patrick Procktor RA (1936–2003). Massey reflected on the increasing explicitness of Procktor’s queer imagery during the mid-1960s, noting that “the transgressive nature of his work became more overt,” with canvases portraying London’s gay clubs and even The Rolling Stones “cocksure in drag.” Much of this imagery appeared in Procktor’s 1967 Redfern exhibition, which opened just two months before the Sexual Offences Act received Royal Assent, a moment Massey described as “a landmark in queer history.”

The Independent likewise underscored the significance of this moment, framing the exhibition as a long-overdue reappraisal of an artist once considered inseparable from Hockney in the public imagination. The review noted that with this show, “his star is once more in the ascendant,” characterising Procktor as “the dandy art twin” whose flamboyance, wit, and charisma made him a central figure of London’s 1960s cultural scene. It traced his early success, including the legendary 1963 Redfern debut exhibition that sold out before opening, through to later decades overshadowed by personal struggles, ultimately positioning Stages as a compelling reclamation of his legacy.

Across all three accounts, a shared picture emerged: the exhibition spanned forty years of practice, which brought together a remarkable grouping of works that explored identity, desire, theatricality, and performance. Key canvases from the 1960s anchored the show, including The Beach: Figures in Red and Black (1962), Three Figures from Memory II (1965), and Shades (1966), the latter depicting the covert queer spaces of Soho with a cinematic, stage-set atmosphere.

The artist himself was as unforgettable as the work: dazzling, witty, and impossible to ignore. Richard Selby, director of The Redfern Gallery, once remarked that “his sharp, wicked humour was legendary.” Tall and magnetic, with a keen eye for beauty and a gift for conversation, Procktor moved with ease through the creative worlds of art, theatre, and music. As well as David Hockney, his circle included Ossie Clark, Cecil Beaton, Celia Birtwell, and Peter Schlesinger; his Marylebone flat became both social hub and studio. Procktor brought the same theatrical flair to his art that animated his life, which inspired the title for the exhibition - Patrick Procktor: Stages.

Friends and colleagues recall him as brilliantly articulate, mischievously funny, and delightfully unpredictable, a man who could turn any conversation into a performance. His creative energy flowed effortlessly between art, theatre, and music, leading him to design murals, stage sets, and even album covers for Elton John. His portraits of friends, lovers, and icons revealed both affection and irony, capturing people as they were, not as they wished to appear. As The Week observed, the exhibition affirmed Procktor’s place within a museum-level lineage of modern British art.

Ultimately, his work speaks with the same quiet brilliance that defined him, a lasting testament to an artist who saw the world with wit, beauty, and humanity.

Ian Massey’s articles appear in the autumn issue of The Royal Academy of Arts Magazine and The Independent.

Patrick Procktor: Stages was extended on view at The Redfern Gallery, Cork Street, until the end of November.