Battle for the Colony Club ; It Is Part of London History, a Bohemian Haunt Made Famous by a Clientele That Included Francis Bacon. Now, On the Eve of an Auction to Sell the Club's Art, We Reveal How Artists Are Fighting to Save It

Summary

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THE COLONY ROOM, the Soho den celebrated for the brilliance, decadence and heroic drinking of its clientele, is today attempting a dramatic escape from a death sentence. The club is due to close at Christmas after more than 60 years and tomorrow its valuable art collection is to be sold at auction. Now, eleventh-hour legal moves have been launched by a group of members determined to stop the sale and save the club from extinction.

Exchanges between lawyers have crisscrossed London in the past 24 hours as the battle for the Colony intensified.

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Extract

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Battle for the Colony Club ; It Is Part of London History, a Bohemian Haunt Made Famous by a Clientele That Included Francis Bacon. Now, On the Eve of an Auction to Sell the Club's Art, We Reveal How Artists Are Fighting to Save It

Behind the struggle to keep the club alive, the Evening Standard can reveal, is a row that has torn the heart out of an institution considered unique and probably irreplaceable.

The Colony is London history. This is where Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud drank; Dylan Thomas threw up on the carpet and Princess Margaret popped in for a pink gin. More recently, Damien Hirst held court, while Kate Moss did an impromptu turn as a barmaid.

More than anything, the Colony Roo...

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