John Richardson, raconteur

John Richardson, friend and biographer of Picasso, died recently at the age of 95. I took this photograph of him at his house in New Milford, Connecticut in 2008. As we drove up, he was there to greet us, dressed in an over large white undershirt. He showed us the house and library and I found several places I wanted to photograph him. "I'd better go in and change." he said.

After we finished with the photography he produced excellent Argentinian chardonnay and tinned guacamole, also very good. We sat in his lovely garden enjoying one of his many and great gifts, that of a raconteur.

Ian Kingsley and his crew arrived precisely at the appointed hour one frosty morning to cut down a Norway spruce which, as legend has it, was planted 50 or so years ago as a six foot Christmas tree which grew to a 75 foot giant whose roots destroyed the clay drainage pipes of the house.

First they fixed ropes that would guide the tree in the direction they wanted it to fall. I was nervous to ask if I could take some pictures as distracting a man half way up a 75 foot tree could lead to a serious accident, I thought.

When they were all safely on the ground and Ian, on the right in the photograph, had his saw out and was beginning his cut. I was standing on the drive, 180° from the intended direction of the fall.

"Am I all right standing here?" I asked

"Something very serious will have gone wrong if you're not."

He continued with his cut, gave the tree a little shove and down it crashed, exactly where they planned it.