{"product_id":"9780008244156_francis-bacon-revelations","title":"Francis Bacon: Revelations","description":"\u003ch2\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eThe Times\u003c\/em\u003e Art Book of the Year 2021\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFINALIST FOR THE PLUTARCH AWARD 2022\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n          \u003cstrong\u003e‘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\u003c\/strong\u003e\n        \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n          \u003cstrong\u003e‘A magnificent triumph … I was captivated by every line’ OBSERVER\u003c\/strong\u003e\n        \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n          \u003cstrong\u003eA 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.\u003c\/strong\u003e\n        \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBacon 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 explored here in detail for the first time. He dreamed of remaking the modern room.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBacon worked no less hard or ambitiously as a painter, at first with little success. Throughout the 1930s and early ’40s he suffered ongoing failures, growing isolated and often ill. His health issues throughout his life were far more significant than he revealed. Then came his astonishing breakthrough in 1944, with \u003cem\u003eThree Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion\u003c\/em\u003e. In the following decades, he emerged as one of the great iconoclasts and \u003cem\u003ebon vivants\u003c\/em\u003e of his time, a Wildean figure whom one friend called ‘a terrific grandee.’ Bacon was typically celebrated as a sexual adventurer who liked rough trade, but he never stopped longing for a serious committed relationship, however painful. He continued to make disturbing images of the strangeness within, but developed into a more varied artist than has been recognised, creating in particular an extraordinary series of self-portraits. He was an artist who believed in chance and paradox: the iconoclast eventually became an icon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a story, deeply researched and masterfully told, of a sickly boy who became one of the great figures of his time. The twentieth century does not know itself without Bacon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis contemporary masterpiece delves into the life of one of the best artists of the 20th century, revealing a history rich in individual struggle and triumph. The autobiography-like narrative paints a vivid picture of Bacon's life, from his early years to his rise as a celebrated icon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor fans of Mark Davis (On the Trail of Jack the Ripper), Her Honour Wendy Joseph Qc (Unlawful Killings), Jason Neal (True Crime Case Histories -), Lee Jackson (Dickensland), and Sara Divello (Where in the OM Am I?).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan, Read by Charles Armstrong","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46889219195029,"sku":"9780008244156","price":66.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9780008244156_a4c8720b-bd85-4e92-a82d-6f139596134f.jpg?v=1776888518","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9780008244156_francis-bacon-revelations","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}