Francis Bacon

Published in 1996, Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma was the first in-depth study of the artists life. It has not been superseded.

In this substantially revised, updated edition - to coincide with the artists centenary, which will be celebrated from autumn 2008 through summer 2009 - 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 Bacons 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 Bacons 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 Bacons work.

Similarly, his recent research into the artists 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 Bacons life and work. Peppiatt will also unveil new information from several people who knew Bacon intimately and who have never gone on record previously.