The Pisshouse Pub
Photograph
1969 (photographed)
1969 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Charlie Phillips moved to London from Jamaica in 1956 and began to document life in his local community, taking photographs with a Kodak Brownie camera he had been given by a black American serviceman. His photographs of people and places associated with Notting Hill depict both significant and everyday moments in the area’s history, particularly in relation to its growing black population. The local landmark of the ‘Pisshouse Pub’ on the corner of Blenheim Crescent and Portobello Road is a frequent setting in this visual history. At a time of racial hostility in Britain, Phillips created a record of multicultural community.
The V&A acquired ten photographs by Charlie Phillips as part of the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives.
The V&A acquired ten photographs by Charlie Phillips as part of the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Pisshouse Pub (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Gelatin silver print |
| Brief description | Photograph by Charlie Phillips, 'The Pisshouse Pub', gelatin silver print, London, 1969 |
| Physical description | A black and white photograph of a black man in a suit and porkpie hat leaning over an elderly white woman who is sat at a table in a pub, his arms on her shoulders. We cannot see the face of the man as he is turned kissing the head of the woman, who is wearing large glasses and smiling. She wears a leopard print fur coat and holds a half-drunk glass on the table in front of her. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. |
| Object history | The V&A acquired this photograph as part of the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Charlie Phillips moved to London from Jamaica in 1956 and began to document life in his local community, taking photographs with a Kodak Brownie camera he had been given by a black American serviceman. His photographs of people and places associated with Notting Hill depict both significant and everyday moments in the area’s history, particularly in relation to its growing black population. The local landmark of the ‘Pisshouse Pub’ on the corner of Blenheim Crescent and Portobello Road is a frequent setting in this visual history. At a time of racial hostility in Britain, Phillips created a record of multicultural community. The V&A acquired ten photographs by Charlie Phillips as part of the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives. |
| Associated objects | |
| Bibliographic reference | Phillips, Charlie and Mike Phillips. Notting Hill in the Sixties. (London: Lawrence & Wishart Ltd, 1991) ISBN 0 85315 751 0 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.261-2011 |
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| Record created | July 12, 2011 |
| Record URL |
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