Artists' Lives

Michael Peppiatt is an international art world insider who has written about many European modern artists over the past fifty years. This collection of his best biographical writing covers a wide spectrum of modern art, from Van Gogh and Pierre Bonnard to personal conversations with painter Sonia Delaunay, artist Dora Maar, and Francis Bacon. Peppiatts writing is lively and engaging, taking readers into the company of notable art-world personalities and moments of disillusion. The collection includes under-recognized artists such as Dachau survivor Zoran Music and Montenegrin artist Dado, and provides a unique personal insight into some of the greatest creative minds of the modern era.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 06 April 2023
Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd

Praised by the Art Newspaper as 'the best art writer of his generation, Michael Peppiatt has encountered many European modern artists over more than fifty years. This selection of some of his best biographical writing covers a wide spectrum of modern art, from Van Gogh and Pierre Bonnard, to personal conversations with painter Sonia Delaunay, artist Dora Maar, who was Picasso's lover in the 1930s and 1940s, and Francis Bacon, perhaps the most famous of the many artists with whom Peppiatt has formed personal friendships.

Michael Peppiatts lively, engaging writing takes us into the company of many notable art-world personalities, such as the Catalan painter Antoni Tàpies, whom he visits in his studio, and moments of disillusion, such as his meeting with the self-mythologizing artist Balthus. Art criticism blends with anecdote: riding with Lucian Freud in his Bentley, drinking with Bacon in Soho, discussing Picassos trousers with David Hockney...

This collection of Peppiatts most perceptive texts includes under-recognized artists, such as Dachau survivor Zoran Music, or Montenegrin artist Dado, whose retrospective Peppiatt curated at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Remarkably varied in their scope and lucidly written for a general reader, these selected essays not only provide us with perceptive commentary and acute critical judgment, they also give a unique personal insight into some of the greatest creative minds of the modern era.

Weight: 630g
Dimension: 165 x 243 x 33 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780500021965