Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon was one of most elusive and enigmatic creative geniuses of the 20th century. However much his avowed aim was to simplify both himself and his art, he remained a deeply complex person. Bacon was keenly aware of this underlying contradiction, and whether talking or painting, strove consciously towards absolute clarity and simplicity, calling himself ‘simply complicated’.
With essays and interviews spanning more than half a century, this updated edition of Francis Bacon: Studies for a Portrait brings this fascinating artist into closer view.
The essays and interviews span more than half a century. Opening with an interview by the author in 1963, the year that he met Bacon, there are also essays written for
exhibitions, memoirs and reflections on Bacon’s late work, some published here for the first time. It also includes recorded conversations with Bacon in Paris that lasted long into the night, and an overall account of the artist’s extraordinary London studio.