Francis Bacon : studies for a portrait : essays and interviews

"One of he most elusive and enigmatic creative geniuses of modern times, Francis Bacon was a man of endless contradictions and facets. In this invaluable book Michael Peppiatt, a major art critic and close friend of Bacon, offers an entertaining and uniquely well-informed portrait of this complex artist." "Peppiatt's collection of interviews and essays spans more than forty years - from 1963, when the two men met, to 2007, when Peppiatt wrote an essay explaining Bacon's passionate involvement with Van Gogh. The pieces in between include discussions of Bacon's working methods and techniques, his unlikely relationship with his London dealer, his attitude towards Christian belief and classical myth, and his defining friendship with the eminent French writer Michel Leiris. Peppiatt also provides fascinating anecdotes about the artist's early life, his intimate relationships, and his connections with the artists who were his contemporaries and friends. In addition, among the interviews reproduced for the book are new transcripts of two interviews presenting previously omitted material that brings out many little-known aspects of Bacon's presence and personality."--Jacket

Interviewing Francis Bacon
Interview one: from a convention with Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon at work
An obsession with popes
Francis Bacon in the 1950s
The sacred and the profane
Francis Bacon and the school of London
Interview two: reality conveyed by a lie
The legacy of genius: Van Gogh and Francis Bacon
Mr Bacon and Miss Beston
'All the pulsations of a person'-Francis Bacons portraits and self-portraits
Interview three: provoking accidents, prompting chance
A strange fascination : the friendship between Michel Leiris and Francis Bacon
Bacon's eyes