The Dinner Party

Walsh painted' The Dinner Party' in the last decade of his life. It is one of his most complex works. The sitters, who would never have met all at the same time, are people from all periods of his life. They include his neighbour, solicitor, ex-wife, partner, bank manager and friends. There are 23 figures in total including Walsh himself, who appears twice. ‘The Dinner Party’ is widely regarded as one of Walsh’s best paintings. In its composition the concept of the picture owes a great deal to the Walker Art Gallery’s masterpiece by Millais, ‘Isabella’. The painting was more carefully planned than much of his earlier work. Photographs exist of the canvas at various stages of completion with the artist's profile photographs of the sitters pinned down the left edge of the work showing that Walsh had worked on the heads first, successively from the left. He also drew the composition out fully on a separate canvas of the same size as well as making a large number of pencil drawings of individual heads. The work was finished in October 1980 in time to be entered, unsuccessfully, for the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition 12. The sitters in ‘The Dinner Party’ are, in order: (left hand side, from the front) Ray Hudson, Walsh’s neighbour; David Berry, his solicitor; Nish (Christine) Ridpath; Arthur Ballard, ex-boxer and painter; Lesley Walsh, Sam’s ex-wife; Joe Martingdale; Sam himself; Mike Carran, his bank manager; Stanley Haddon, Liverpool Philharmonic clarinettist; Luke Walsh, Sam’s son; Don Craig, ex-teacher and Liverpool Councillor. (right hand side, from the front) Susannah Lash, friend; Billy Wellings, friend; Adrian Henri, poet and painter; Ros McAlister, with whom Walsh was living; Roger McGough, poet; Sam again (wagging a finger at himself opposite - he hated people doing this); Maurice Cockrill, painter; Jim Weston, sculptor; Don McKinlay, painter; McKinlay’s partner Jani; Sheena McKinlay, Don’s daughter; Spud Nolan, Sam’s friend