Artists Lives

Engaging encounters, personal anecdotes, and jargonfree critical insights into some of the liveliest creative minds in modern art, by an international artworld insider.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 conversations with painter Sonia Delaunay, artist and photographer Dora Maar, who was Picassos 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 introduces us to many notable artworld personalities, such as the Catalan painter Antoni Tpies, whom he visits in his studio, and moments of disillusion, such as his meeting with the selfmythologizing artist Balthus. Art criticism blends with anecdote: Peppiatt recalls riding with Lucian Freud in his Bentley, drinking with Bacon in Soho, and many more revealing moments.This collection of Peppiatts most perceptive texts includes encounters with underrecognized artists, such as Dachau survivor Zoran Muic, 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. This book is a mustread for all lovers of modernism and postwar paintingin particular. 27 illustrations