About the book:

Uplifting and engaging, this story recounts the life and career of a rebellious 20th-century British artist.

Born into a large, musical, and bohemian family in London, the British artist John Craxton (1922-2009) has been described as a Neo-Romantic, but he called himself a "kind of Arcadian". His early art was influenced by Blake, Palmer, Miro, and Picasso. After achieving a dream of moving to Greece, his work evolved as a personal response to Byzantine mosaics, El Greco, and the art of Greek life. This book tells his adventurous story for the first time. At turns exciting, funny, and poignant, the saga is enlivened by Craxton's ebullient pictures. Ian Collins expands our understanding of the artist greatly-including an in-depth exploration of the storied, complicated friendship between Craxton and Lucian Freud, drawing on letters and memories that Craxton wanted to remain private until after his death.

About the author:

Ian Collins is an independent art writer and curator. He has written numerous biographies and monographs, including ground-breaking studies of John Craxton, James Dodds, Rose Hilton, Joan Leigh Fermor, John McLean and Guy Taplin. His three-volume history of East Anglian art, and many features for the Eastern Daily Press, led to the 2013 Masterpieces: Art and East Anglia exhibition and a record audience for the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich. He has also worked with the Aldeburgh Festival, British Museum, Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Benaki Museum in Athens and A.G. Leventis Gallery in Nicosia. He lives in England and Greece.