Francis Bacon

"The definitive biography of Francis Bacon, re-issued with substantial new
material

Published in 1996, Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma was the first
in-depth study of the artist's life. It has not been superseded. In this
substantially revised, updated edition Peppiatt will incorporate confidential
material Bacon gave him, which he did not include in the first
edition.

This valuable, first-hand information comes from the hundreds of conversations
Bacon had with Peppiatt, often late into the night, over thirty years,
particularly during the periods Bacon spent living and working in Paris. It
includes insights into Bacon's intimate relationships, his artistic convictions
and his general view of life, as well as his acerbic comments on his
contemporaries.

Peppiatt will draw on some of the fascinating information that has become
available in the fifteen years since the artist died. Once jealously guarded by
the artist himself, the contents of Bacon's studio can now be freely consulted;
Peppiatt has had privileged access to these archives, and he will show how a
number of recent discoveries - including wholly unexpected source material -
have radically changed the way we look at Bacon's work.

Similarly, his recent research into the artist's background - his tortured
affair with the sadistic Peter Lacy in Tangier, for instance, and the baffling
circumstances of his death in Madrid - will shed light on unexplored areas of
Bacon's life and work. Peppiatt will also unveil new information from several
people who knew Bacon intimately and who have never gone on record previously.
"