COMMISSIONS - Rosie Emerson

The Dorchester

Vesbers Bar, Legendary cocktail bar with new interor design by Martin Brudnizki. Rosie was comissioned to create two hand painted and Cyanotypes finished with 22 crt gold leaf to hang in permident residence in the bar alongside Cecil Beaton's original photographs. A number of prints can also be viewed in the Hotel suites.

The name Vesper Bar honours The Dorchester’s many connections with James Bond. Author Ian Fleming, who invented the Vesper Martini in the book Casino Royale, stayed and dined at The Dorchester in the 1940s and throughout his life until he died in 1964. When William Boyd continued the Bond series with the novel ‘Solo’, Bond wakes up in a suite at The Dorchester on his 45th birthday. During the 60s and 70s the production company for the James Bond films, EON, had an office at the hotel and throughout the decades The Dorchester has hosted many press junkets for the films and welcomed all six James Bonds, 14 Bond Girls, four M’s and nine Bond villains as guests of the hotel.

The new layout of the bar allows for a dedicated Park Lane entrance and an outside terrace with views towards Hyde Park. Ornate design runs throughout Vesper Bar, including a 1930s Palladium leaf ceiling creating a warm effect as Martini hour transitions into the evening. An upper area of the bar and cosy ‘snug’ provide more privacy without compromising on the atmosphere.

A series of Cecil Beaton pieces will hang within the bar to remind guests of this glamorous decade. Some of Beaton’s original drawings and celebrity photography will be brought together with work by contemporary artists, such as Rosie Emerson, who were inspired by both Beaton and the energy of that time.