Mar 04, 2022
Isherwood-Bachardy Residence
The residence at 145 Adelaide Drive was home to acclaimed author Christopher Isherwood and his partner, artist Don Bachardy, for thirty years. Born near Manchester, England in 1904, Isherwood became a U.S. citizen in 1946 and lived in Southern California until his death in 1986. Professionally, Isherwood was a well-known novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. He identified as gay and often explored this identity as a central theme in his literary work. One of his most celebrated accomplishments was his classic American novel, A Single Man, which was published in 1964. Isherwood was good friends with Dr. Evelyn Hooker and lived with her at 400 South Saltair Avenue from 1952 to 1953. In 1953, Isherwood met and fell in love with Don Bachardy, considered by many as Los Angeles' most celebrated portrait painter. Despite their thirty-year age difference, the couple lived together in this hillside residence from 1956 until Isherwood's death in 1986. Over the course of their relationship, Isherwood and Bachardy collaborated on many artistic projects, including the television film Frankenstein: The True Story and their diary-portrait series October. SIGNIFICANCE: As Christopher Isherwood's home for three decades, the house on Adelaide Drive was the backdrop to the creation of seminal works within the fields of literature, theater, television, and fine art. In 1963, the residence played a key role in events that would later inspire Isherwood's most famous novel, A Single Man. Following an incident with Don Bachardy that nearly ended their relationship, Isherwood temporarily moved out of the home that they had shared for seven years. It was this event, as well as Isherwood's jealousy around Bachardy's affairs and the emotional turmoil that followed, that served as creative material for A Single Man. Photo by Trudi Sandmeier
Isherwood-Bachardy Residence
The residence at 145 Adelaide Drive was home to acclaimed author Christopher Isherwood and his partner, artist Don Bachardy, for thirty years. Born near Manchester, England in 1904, Isherwood became a U.S. citizen in 1946 and lived in Southern California until his death in 1986. Professionally, Isherwood was a well-known novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. He identified as gay and often explored this identity as a central theme in his literary work. One of his most celebrated accomplishments was his classic American novel, A Single Man, which was published in 1964. Isherwood was good friends with Dr. Evelyn Hooker and lived with her at 400 South Saltair Avenue from 1952 to 1953. In 1953, Isherwood met and fell in love with Don Bachardy, considered by many as Los Angeles' most celebrated portrait painter. Despite their thirty-year age difference, the couple lived together in this hillside residence from 1956 until Isherwood's death in 1986. Over the course of their relationship, Isherwood and Bachardy collaborated on many artistic projects, including the television film Frankenstein: The True Story and their diary-portrait series October. SIGNIFICANCE: As Christopher Isherwood's home for three decades, the house on Adelaide Drive was the backdrop to the creation of seminal works within the fields of literature, theater, television, and fine art. In 1963, the residence played a key role in events that would later inspire Isherwood's most famous novel, A Single Man. Following an incident with Don Bachardy that nearly ended their relationship, Isherwood temporarily moved out of the home that they had shared for seven years. It was this event, as well as Isherwood's jealousy around Bachardy's affairs and the emotional turmoil that followed, that served as creative material for A Single Man. Photo by Trudi Sandmeier
Mar 04, 2022
Posted Date
Mar 03, 2022
Historical Record Date
Mar 04, 2022
Source Name
Los Angeles Conservancy
