Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma

If one is searching for a "Life" of F. Bacon, this is the one to read. It has been revised and updated from the original hardcover edition, which was praised when it first appeared. Peppiatt knew Bacon during the later periods of the painter's life. There are many descriptions of first-hand experiences. Among critical studies focusing on Bacon, three writers who knew Bacon during his lifetime are: John Russell (Thames & Hudson), David Sylvester (interview collections) and Michel Leiris (Rizzoli, 1983 in English translation). All three are excellent.

Dear readers, - Have read many biographies - This rates as one of the best - The ultimate Bacon biography - It will shock you - Peppiatt has captured Bacon to a tee - Highly recommend - It will allow you to enter the mind of probably the greatest artist of our generation

Great book.... I had never seen a painting of Francis Bacon and had no idea who he was. That being said, I found that the book held my attention from start to finish. Partly it was Bacon's outlandish lifestyle and the strange cast of characters who ran through his life which kept me entertained. Partly it was the analysis of art and Bacon's art in general that worked. The author excelled on both counts, mixing colorful anecdotes with insightful analysis of the work. The author is a master of words -- while reading it you may find yourself in SOHO hanging with the bohemians at a seedy bar, or perhaps getting reamed by a gangster in a public bathroom. In any event, this is a book well worth your time and money.

"Francis Bacon : Anatomy of an Enigma" is an illuminating insight into the odd life of an artist who took great pains to prevent undue public prying while alive. Bacon felt that unnecessary publicity on his own peculiar choice of lifestyle would strip his paintings of the mystique they needed to work so effectively on the most visceral levels of the viewer's nervous system. Michael Peppiatt takes us beyond the racks of carcasses and the pained, unsettled figures in claustrophobic rooms to glimpse a painter who was disarmingly immersed in all the pleasures that life can bestow. From his financial generosity and love of fine wines and good fellowship, to the celebrated sexual experimentation and excess of his youth, Peppiatt's portrait of the artist is at once astonishing and humorous in its revelations and salacious gossip. We learn the truth behind Bacon's ill fated relationship with the gigolo-spiv George Dyer, who features so prominently in the artists 60's portraits. We read about Bacon's unlikely association with Ronnie and Reggie Kray, the gangster celebrities of swinging Sixties London, as well as a whole host of other unsavoury characters, the flotsam of a twilight `interzone' where Bacon lurked and prowled as if to reinforce his determinedly cruel, sadistic view of the world. Other prominent Baconian characters are also sketched with humour and compassion, including Muriel Belcher, acid-tongued proprietor of the Colony Room Club, Isabella Rawsthorne, Henrietta Moraes, George Deakin and Lucien Freud. Particularly hilarious is Henrietta Moraes' account of the origin of her famous nude photographs, many of which formed the basis for Bacon's most memorable female nudes. Unsurprising for a Baconian character, the photographer - George Deakin - having persuaded Henrietta to pose with her legs a little further apart than necessary for the particular needs of art, was caught attempting to sell her nude images to sailors in 1950s Soho. This and other splendidly sleazy stories transform what would otherwise be a bleak or pretentious subject matter into a tour de force of black humour that Samuel Beckett would be proud of. This biography is the document which avid Baconians have long been waiting for, the perfect companion to David Sylvestor's record of Bacon's conversation and poet Michel Leiris' various essays on the Bacon world view. It will be an essential text for all those who, like Bacon himself, struggle to achieve a totally honest and unvarnished opinion of human life in all its squalor, depravity and cruelty whilst still finding the motivation not to slit one's own throat. Only recommended for those, like `the old queen' himself, with a particularly warped view of existence.