FRANCIS BACON RETRIEVED: LOST WORDS / NEW WRITINGS

Published in nine parts between 1962 and 1986, Bacon’s interviews with David Sylvester remain the definitive sources on the artist. But editorial decisions applied by both men ahead of publication saw valuable material being lost– until now.

With fifteen thousand of Bacon’s previously unpublished words, exclusive revelations from his associates, compelling recent discoveries, and photographs of destroyed paintings reproduced for the first time, Francis Bacon Retrieved is a stimulating and varied collection of new thoughts on the artist.

Given their contributions to Bacon studies, it may appear ungracious to criticise aspects of the Sylvester interviews. But it is also worth remembering that the two were friends having a conversation, with Sylvester’s questions lighting the way. As a result, the material that originally made it into print is occasionally misleading, and could, in parts, be said to reflect Sylvester’s thoughts on Bacon and art more than the artist’s.

Presented thematically, rather than chronologically, Martin Harrison’s arrangement of this exhilarating new material will hopefully prove more convenient for readers, providing new insights on topics including Bacon’s early life, his subjects and influences, his shifting perceptions of his own strengths and weaknesses, and the “accidents” that led to some of his most celebrated works.