Francis Bacon Av Mark Stevens, Annalyn Swan

The Times Art Book of the Year 2021FINALIST FOR THE PLUTARCH AWARD 2022¿Must surely be the definitive life of Francis Bacon ¿ A biography that no Bacon fan ¿ or indeed foe ¿ can afford to overlook ¿ Mesmerising¿ THE TIMES¿A magnificent triumph ¿ I was captivated by every line¿ OBSERVERA decade in the making, based upon hundreds of interviews and extensive new material, Pulitzer Prize winners Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan have written a startlingly original portrait ¿ rich, complex, and subtle ¿ of a commanding modern figure.Bacon concealed many important aspects of his life. He described himself as an asthmatic child in Ireland with foxhunting parents and a tyrannical father, but he was also rescued by a series of formidable women ¿ women who in this biography emerge in their own right. He was never just a dissolute young man but was also a passionate reader, largely self-taught. Early on, influenced by Eileen Gray, he became a hard-working and ambitious designer, a brief career explor