Bulgarian umbrella Bulgarian umbrella A Bulgarian umbrella is an umbrella with a hidden pneumatic mechanism which injects a small poisonous pellet containing ricin. It has a hollowed stalk into which the pellet neatly sits. Such an umbrella was allegedly used in and named for the assassination of the Bulgarian dissident writer Georgi Markov on 7 September 1978 (the birthday of the Bulgarian State Council chairman Todor Zhivkov, who had often been the target of Georgi Markov's criticism) on Waterloo Bridge in London. Markov died three days later. It was also allegedly used in the failed assassination attempt against the Bulgarian dissident journalist
Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne Standing in a Street in Soho Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne Standing in a Street in Soho Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne Standing in a Street in Soho is a 1967 oil on canvas painting by the British figurative artist Francis Bacon, housed in the Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin. Described by art critic John Russell as one of Bacon's finest works, it depicts Isabel Rawsthorne, the painter, designer and occasional model for artists such as André Derain, Alberto Giacometti and Picasso. Bacon met her in the late 1940s through Erica Brausen, who was exhibiting both artists in her Hanover Gallery in London. He portrayed Rawsthorne many times, including three