Patrick Bashford (1929–2011) was a Polish-born professor of classical guitar at the Royal College of Music, Vogue model, and familiar face of the 1950s & 60s.

Early life

John Patrick Bashford was born at Beuthen, Germany, now

Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian language, Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital. It is one ...

, Poland. His parents were Maria who was

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

and Roderick who was British. Both worked for the British Consular Service in Germany until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when they were transferred to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Bashford was educated at Wells House prep school in Malvern,

St Paul's St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, southwest London, and then at the

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz along with dram ...

Career

It is said that his pioneering work helped turn male modelling into a respectable profession. As a model he was noted for his amber eyes and athlete's carriage. He worked as a model for over thirty years. In later life he became a classical guitarist. It is said that his love of the guitar came from his Polish nanny singing him lullabies. He was 20 when he was invited by American poet Samuel Menashe on a trip to

Andalucia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It i ...

and fell in love with the sound. Patrick studied with José Rey de la Torre at

Mannes College The Mannes School of Music (), originally called the David Mannes Music School and later the Mannes Music School, Mannes College of Music, the Chatham Square Music School, and Mannes College: The New School for Music, is a music conservatory in T ...

in New York City. He became a world recognised expert in Spanish classical guitar. Bashford became a professor at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

in 1972.

Family

His wife was

Ana Raquel Satre Ana Raquel Satre (1925 – 18 November 2014)—nicknamed 'Mimi'—was a Uruguayan operatic mezzo-soprano. Biography Satre was born in Uruguay and studied with French soprano Ninon Vallin at the Conservatorio Nacional in Montevideo. Her first succ ...

, an

operatic Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

. They had one child. They separated in the 1980s. Bashford had an older brother, Christopher. His uncle was Sir Henry Bashford, honorary Physician to

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

. His ancestors served with both the British and French fleets at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

Notes

External links

Photos of Patrick Bashford whilst a model in 1964Photos of Patrick Bashford at Dumfries and Galloway art festival in 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bashford, Patrick 1929 births 2011 deaths People from Bytom Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom Polish diaspora in the United Kingdom British male models British classical guitarists British male guitarists 20th-century British classical musicians 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century British musicians