Muriel Belcher

Muriel Belcher (1908–1979) was an English nightclub owner and artist's model who founded and managed the private drinking club The Colony Room.

Its long term popularity amongst London's bohemians lasted for 60 years and is widely credited to the exclusivity resulting from Belcher's charisma, strong personality and daunting door policy as "a tough, sharp-tongued veteran of the Soho drinking club scene".

[2] Belcher was the model and muse for a number of paintings, including several single panels and triptychs by Francis Bacon, who was one of the club's first members and used his fame to draw early clientele.

"[5] According to Christopher Hitchens, "Muriel, arguably the rudest person in England ("shut up cunty and order some more champagne"), almost never left her perch at the corner of the bar and was committed to that form of humour that insists on referring to all gentlemen as ladies.

She had a knack for attracting or discovering interesting and colourful people, and the patronage of men like George Melly and Bacon helped to establish the Colony Room's close-knit community.