Francis Bacon: A Self-Portrait In Words

Francis Bacon (1909-1992) often invented memorable epithets and definitions. He liked to do with words what he tried to do in painting: 'I like sentences that cut me'. The British artist's letters reflect and reveal his dominant preoccupations at different times in his career.

This book offers a verbal self-portrait of Francis Bacon, revealing both the man and the artist.
The documents selected illustrate the painter's lively mind and his ability to express complex ideas in a highly personal language: letters to friends, patrons and fellow artists, as well as notes and lists of paintings. These documents are often accompanied by a sketch that serves as a reminder or injunction to the artist as he works in the studio, and many of them were not revealed until after his death.