Francis Bacon: Revelations
Reviews
“[M]agnificent…. I was captivated by every line.…This book’s great achievement is that it does not confuse flexibility in the matter of relationships with insincerity, nor ravenous desire with decadence. Bacon, you come to understand, was fundamentally serious and fundamentally loving.”
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The Sunday Independent (Ireland): Magnificent, monumental
“[An] authoritative and fascinating biography…. Stevens’ and Swan’s seamlessly-written double act is a magnificent, monumental achievement.”
Mary O’Sullivan, “Monumental portrait of the art of being Francis Bacon,” The Sunday Independent (Ireland), January 24 2021.
Christie’s: Sets a New Benchmark
“A widely praised portrayal of a man who was both serious and loving, but as warped as his art…. It has set a new benchmark for his biographies.”
“Art, architecture and design books to look out for in 2021: Our selection of this year’s must-have titles,” Christie’s, January 21, 2021.
The Financial Times: An incomparable resource
“For Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan, two Pulitzer Prize-winning American arts journalists, Bacon has been a decade-long obsession… . [A]n incomparable resource for art historians, dealers, curators and collectors.”
Christian House, “The Enigma of Francis Bacon,” The Financial Times, January 21, 2021.
The Observer: A captivating triumph
“[M]agnificent…. I was captivated by every line…. This book’s great achievement is that it does not confuse flexibility in the matter of relationships with insincerity, nor ravenous desire with decadence. Bacon, you come to understand, was fundamentally serious and fundamentally loving.”
“[M]agnificent…. I was captivated by every line.…This book digs deeply into the peat of [Bacon’s childhood].…[W]here [the authors] really triumph is in their sympathetic, psychologically convincing accounts of his love life.…This book’s great achievement is that it does not confuse flexibility in the matter of relationships with insincerity, nor ravenous desire with decadence. Bacon, you come to understand, was fundamentally serious and fundamentally loving.”
Rachel Cooke. “Francis Bacon: Revelations by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan review – a captivating triumph.” Observer Book of the Week, The Guardian, January 17, 2021.
Note: This review appeared in the print edition of The Observer and online at The Guardian.
The Times (UK): Definitive
“[W]here this biography soars above rivals is where its authors … probe beneath the façade … and analyse what lay beneath the mask…. This is a biography that … must surely count as definitive.”
“[A] biography that no Bacon fan … can afford to overlook … the prose flows swiftly and elegantly … presents a mesmerising portrait … riveting anecdotes … where this biography soars above rivals is where its authors … probe beneath the façade … and analyse what lay beneath the mask … This is a biography that … must surely count as definitive.”
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Rachel Campbell-Johnston. “Francis Bacon by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan review — the iconoclast who found glory in squalor.” The Times, January16, 2021.
The Sunday Times (UK): Comprehensive & Compelling
“Both comprehensive and compelling … brings the carousing, the paintings and the public and private lives together to form a convincing and often touching whole.”
Michael Prodger, “Francis Bacon by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan, review — a life of shock and excess,” The Sunday Times, January 10, 2021.
Kirkus Starred Review: Unflinching
“Bacon once ‘remarked that it would take a Proust’ to do him justice. Hyperbole, to be sure, but Stevens and Swan are up to the task of demonstrating the many complexities of an intense, significant artistic life.… An unflinching portrayal of an often unwieldy character—further proof of Bacon’s enduring influence.”
“Bacon once ‘remarked that it would take a Proust’ to do him justice. Hyperbole, to be sure, but Stevens and Swan are up to the task of demonstrating the many complexities of an intense, significant artistic life.
An unflinching portrayal of an often unwieldy character — further proof of Bacon’s enduring influence.”
“Review: Francis Bacon: Revelations,” Starred Review, Kirkus, November 24, 2020.