Robert Fraser was an art dealer in the “Swinging London” scene of the 1960s.
Christopher Gibbs said this of Robert Fraser’s influence on the creation of PERFORMANCE and his ability to connect people:
“There was a wonderful being called Robert Fraser who had a gallery in Duke Street. He introduced me to all those people. He was a player, gathering movers and shakers from around the world – Italy, France, the US…I met Mick through him, Anita through him. Keith, Donald, Deborah. He was a pied piper, and a trailblazer, one of the first of our friends to go to India. He burned the candle at both ends, and was alas, the first of our friends to contract HIV, and die in a hurry. Robert’s influence on that film was undeniable; a magician tweaking the show from behind the scenes – I think he was even barred from the set by Donald!”
— from “Cinematic Alchemy: Christopher Gibbs on the Making of Performance” in Contemporary Art Magazine, 2016
A great little film about Robert Fraser, The Stones and PERFORMANCE: