Picasso by the signpost, Chiddingly, East Sussex England 1950, by Lee Miller. © LeeMiller Archives England 2022 All rights reserved www.leemiller.co.uk

There’s a great yarn that’s been doing the rounds for years, the retelling of which is pertinent to the latest exhibition at the excellent Newlands House Gallery, Lee Miller and Picasso.
Pablo Picasso, visiting friends in Sussex, walks into the Six Bells in Chiddingly, and orders a pint. The landlord pours it, and asks him to pay. Picasso says he has no cash, but offers to draw a sketch, instead. The landlord says: “You can pay us good English money, like anyone else.” The Spaniard doesn’t get to quench his thirst; the landlord doesn’t earn himself a valuable artwork. Ha!
But is the story apocryphal? A thorough examination of the circumstances unearths evidence to suggest it could have happened. Picasso did visit Chiddingly, in November 1950, immediately after the disastrous Sheffield Peace Conference, cancelled after a single meeting ...