Muse wanted

November 1966, London. John Lennon walks into the Indica Gallery, to see a preview of conceptual art by the fairly obscure artist Yoko Ono. One piece was a ladder with a black canvas at the top. Lennon climbed to the top and saw the word ‘yes’ in tiny letters, which impressed him. He also saw “an apple on sale there for £200, I thought it was fantastic - I got the humour in her work immediately.”

They met when she handed him an ‘artwork’: a card with the word ‘breathe’ on it. He obediently exhaled.

Photo: Jack Mitchell

Another Yoko work was called Painting to Hammer a Nail In, which was a block of wood and a hammer. Visitors would be allowed to add nails. Lennon asked if he could, but as the show didn’t open until the next day, Yoko said no. After being reminded that Lennon was a millionaire, she said he could, if he paid five shillings. He said “Well, I'll give you an imaginary five shillings and hammer an imaginary nail in.”

“That's when we locked eyes and she got it and I got it”, Lennon later said. It was (almost) love at first sight. He must have been reminded of a Beatles song from the previous year: “I’ve just seen a face, I can’t forget, the time or place, when we first met”.

Many artists meet their muses in similarly poetic circumstances. In 1937 Laurie Lee was out walking in Cornwall, casually playing a fiddle. A woman said ‘boy, come and play for me’, and he did. She became his muse and lover.

In 1954, Picasso bought some chairs from a local artisan. The artisan and his girlfriend carried the chairs to Picasso’s house. Picasso was so struck by the girl that he painted her from memory, then went to her house with the work, which he called Stunningly Beautiful: The Girl with a Ponytail. She was happy to sit for him, and he made at least 40 paintings and sketches of her.

F Scott Fitzgerald, Dante and Chopin all met their muses at parties. Dante was smitten straight away: “from that time forward, love fully ruled my soul”. Chopin was slightly less gushing: “What a repulsive woman...Is she really a woman? I'm inclined to doubt it.”

Chopin, by Eugene Delacroix. The painting was originally bigger, and showed George Sand sitting on his right.
The picture of Sand survives as a separate painting; some moronic owner thought 
the painting would be more valuable if he cut it in half  

It’s a beautiful, romantic image: an artist who’s inspired to create great work by someone they meet by chance. However, if chance isn’t working for you, you could always put an ad on Gumtree:

Model And Muse

Professional photographer, location specialist, has a unique opportunity for one model to undertake regular TFP photoshoots as an in-house contracted muse.

Minimum commitment of two shoots per month. Minimum age 18, proof of age will be required. Photographs provided.

Initial enquiries with sample photo (any quality) and availability for informal interview will be dealt with on a first come, first served basis.