ABSTRACT

This book, a biography on Francis Bacon, is inspired by the friendship the author had with Bacon and based on records of the conversations that took place since 1963. The book forms the first comprehensive account of the artist's life and his work.

part One|92 pages

1909–44

chapter 1|20 pages

Origins and Upbringing 1909-26

chapter 2|20 pages

Educated Abroad: Berlin and Paris 1926-28

chapter 3|17 pages

A Brief Apprenticeship 1928-33

chapter 4|17 pages

‘Insufficiently Surreal’ 1933–39

chapter 5|16 pages

A Vision Without Veils 1939–44

part Two|104 pages

1944–63

chapter 6|16 pages

Father Figures and Crucifixions 1944–46

chapter 7|21 pages

Towards Other Shores 1946–50

chapter 8|21 pages

Hounded by Furies 1950–54

chapter 9|23 pages

Truth Told by a Lie 1954–58

part Three|120 pages

1963–92

chapter 11|24 pages

‘A Brilliant Fool Like Me’ 1963–69

chapter 12|20 pages

All the Honours of Paris 1969–72

chapter 13|22 pages

Elegy for the Dead 1972–75

chapter 14|23 pages

‘My Exhilarated Despair’ 1975–81

chapter 15|15 pages

Alone in the Studio 1981–84

chapter 16|14 pages

‘The Greatest Living Painter’ 1984–92