Artist Sophie Mortimer opens Soho and St Germain at The French House, 49 Dean Street, on Sunday 11 October 2026. The exhibition shows a selection of works pairing the Soho she grew up in with the cafés and squares of St Germain.
The show moves between the French House terrace and its regulars, the Algerian Coffee Stores, Bar Italia, Soho Patisserie and four seasonal views of Soho Square. “I grew up in Soho,” says Mortimer of the Algerian Coffee Stores drawing. “My parents bought coffee there always, and now so do I.”
Of Soho Square – Late Summer, Mortimer says: “I always go back to draw Soho Square. One of my first ever breakthrough drawings was this iconic, one and only tucked-away idyll in the busiest part of London. Soho Square, like the French House, grounds me. I am always drawn to it in every sense – it has architecture, nature, busy life, wildness, danger, calmness, noise and peace, all in one. Familiar and unknown, order and chaos together.”
Sophie Mortimer is a known artist whose work hangs in the private collections of Sir Tom Stoppard, the Getty family and Lord Lambton. She is the illustrator behind the reissued Miss Read novels and was a regular contributor to House and Garden, World of Interiors and Country Homes and Interiors.
A private view takes place on Monday 19 October from 6.30pm, and all are welcome. Works are for sale throughout the exhibition, with prices from £200 – £600.