'Ronnie Wood: The Jimi Hendrix Portraits' Launches At Handel Hendrix House In London

 

Ronnie Wood: The Jimi Hendrix Portraits features two new, unseen original portraits of Jimi Hendrix in his flat on Brook Street by Ronnie Wood alongside prints of much-loved paintings inspired by photographs of Hendrix. They're all on display for the first time in Hendrix’s own home at 23 Brook Street, Mayfair, now the Handel Hendrix House museum, from Wednesday, September 30 through Sunday, April 11, 2027. 

"Without doubt it’s an honor and an absolute delight to be unveiling my two new portraits of Jimi Hendrix along with five other works capturing Jimi in action at the Handel-Hendrix House in Mayfair," Wood said in a statement. "There couldn’t be a better location to have an exhibition and display my work than Jimi’s house in London’s Brook Street."

The Rolling Stones guitarist recalls meeting Hendrix fir the first time. “I first met Jimi in 1966 when he first arrived in London, totally unknown at the time. We shared a flat together for a little while in Holland Park and became friends. It wasn’t long before he stunned us all with those outstanding first performances especially one at the Bag of Nails club in Soho. I’ve created the moment I witnessed the great man on stage in one of the paintings to be exhibited. Jimi’s immense and unique talent took guitar playing to another planet and I hope the paintings capture all that and more."

As Simon Daniels, Director of Handel Hendrix House explains: "At Handel Hendrix House, our aim is to celebrate Jimi Hendrix's life, music and influence by opening up his London home on Brook Street, with live music and through our collections. Ronnie Wood is an iconic figure in contemporary rock and roll who not only knew Hendrix, but also played with, and even lived with him. His unique perspective as both an artist and a musician allows him to capture the spirit and energy of Jimi's live performances with his brush and offers a truly personal tribute to the legend he knew. We are excited to be sharing with our visitors this collection in the place Jimi called home, particularly never-before-seen artworks of Hendrix relaxing in his Brook Street flat."

Handel Hendrix House cares for and presents to the public the homes of two of the greatest musicians ever to have lived in London. George Frideric Handel lived at 25 Brook Street from 1723 until his death in 1759. It was here that Handel wrote and rehearsed his greatest works, including Messiah and its ever popular ‘Hallelujah chorus’ – perhaps the most famous piece of classical music ever written.  His stirring anthem ‘Zadok the Priest’, was also written in Brook Street and has accompanied the coronation of every British monarch since George II (for whom it was written in 1727), including HM King Charles III.

In 1968, Jimi Hendrix moved into an adjoining flat at number 23. Here, in the only place he said he felt truly at home, Hendrix entertained, inspired, and collaborated with other icons of British 60s rock music.

Handel Hendrix House has completed a £3 million project to open all of Handel’s house to the public for the first time by restoring the basement and ground floor by faithfully recreated Handel’s basement kitchen with all its fixtures and fittings, carefully detailed on research and an inventory made shortly after the composer’s death. 

 

Also

- Restored the ground floor parlors in which Handel would receive his guests and aristocratic patrons and in which his assistant, J.C. Smith, would sell tickets and subscriptions to new works.  

- Restored the front façade of 25 Brook Street so that visitors can finally enter Handel’s home through his front door.

 

New things to see in Handel’s house include:

- Historic rooms presented as they might have been in the 1740s, when the composer was in a new burst of creative energy and commercial success writing dramatic oratorios.

- Recently acquired works of art, creating a collection representative of the more than 100 works of art Handel owned in Brook Street.

- New exhibitions about Handel’s music and the musicians he worked with and a mixed reality audio-visual display about the writing of Messiah in the very room in which it was composed.

 

In 2016, Jimi Hendrix’s flat in 23 Brook Street was brilliantly restored and opened to the public. To be enjoyed as a contrasting and complementary part to a visit to Handel’s home, the Hendrix experience at Handel Hendrix House has been expanded as part of the Hallelujah Project:

 

- For the first time, visitors can walk up and down the stairs to his flat, where George Harrison famously had to step over one of Jimi’s other visitors who had passed out en route to the exit.

- A new exhibition features a film showing visitors exploring Hendrix’s legendary guitar technique and his influence on musicians and creatives, with high quality sound supported by Bang & Olufsen

- The film includes material uncovered by Handel Hendrix House through their national ‘Your Experience’ appeal for memories, images and stories of people’s encounters with Jimi Hendrix across the country.

 

A guide to Handel Hendrix House is now available on Bloomberg Connects, which can be translated into 12 different languages including French, German, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Italian, Russian, Korean, Hindi, Japanese and Chinese. Details of the house can be found https://guides.bloombergconnects.org/en-US/guide/handelHendrixHouse

The house is open Wednesday – Sunday 10.00 – 17.00 (last entry at 16:00). Tickets are £14.50 for adults, £10.50 for students and free for the under 12s. Tickets can be purchased in advance at handelhendrix.org but it is possible to buy a ticket on the day at the museum.