John Dunbar

John Dunbar was born in 1943 in Mexico City to renowned British filmmaker Robert Dunbar. Growing up with three sisters—Marina, an architect, and twins Margaret and Jennifer—he spent his early childhood in Moscow, where his father served as a cultural attache, before moving back to England.

Dunbar pursued his education at the University of Cambridge, where he met singer Marianne Faithfull. They married on May 6, 1965, with Peter Asher as his best man, and honeymooned in Paris alongside Beat poets like Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso. Their son, Nicholas, was born later that year, but the couple divorced in 1970, with Dunbar gaining custody.

In 1965, he co-founded the Indica Gallery with Barry Miles, which quickly gained a reputation for showcasing avant-garde artists, including Yoko Ono and the Boyle Family. It was at Indica that Dunbar facilitated Ono's introduction to John Lennon. The gallery closed after two years, but Dunbar continued his artistic journey, exhibiting alongside notable figures such as Peter Blake.

From 1969 to 1971, he served as exhibitions officer for the British Council, where he championed emerging artists like Barry Flanagan and Bruce McLean. In 2006, he participated in the International Symposium on LSD in Basel, discussing its visual impact, and contributed to a revival of Indica at the Riflemaker Gallery in London. Dunbar's diverse artistic practice has spanned drawing, sculpture, photography, and film, with significant exhibitions in London and internationally.