The painter Francis Bacon (1909-1992) consistently rejected attempts at categorization and analytical comment on his work, and refused to allow individual discussions of his paintings in exhibition catalogues. In this book, published to accompany a 1999 US exhibition organized by the Trust for Museum Exhibitions, three Bacon scholars aim to shed light on the artist's private life and on his working methods, about which he was particularly secretive. Individual commentaries are provided on each colour plate, and three interviews with Bacon are reprinted in their entirety. The illustrations include a number of late works and numerous documentary photographs.