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The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon: The Authorized Biography
Widely regarded as the best British painter since Turner, very little is known about Francis Bacon's life. In this, the first-ever book to be written about him, Daniel Farson, friend and confidant to Bacon for over forty years, gives a highly personal, first-hand account of the man as he knew him. From his sexual adventures to his rise from obscurity to international fame, Farson gives us unique insight into Bacon's genius.
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First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 24, 2025
2025 re-read
This time around I found this book more serious and insightful. Is this the same book I reviewed before?
I was thrown by repeated references to Burroughs' novel "The Naked Lunch" (Naked Lunch: The Restored Text; however I do see early editions listed here with that title. Unfortunately Farson also calls the movie "The Naked Lunch" and the movie never had that title.
Much of this book is personal and intimate in terms of examining how friends come and go. Other painters, such as Lucian Freud, were friends with Bacon, until something happened, a burst of professional jealousy or an outburst of cruelty, and then they were friends no longer. As I say below, Freud was paradoxical, because he had strained relations with many others but could also be enormously kind to those he did not see as a threat.
In any event, I bumped up the rating. Perhaps if I read it again I will appreciate it even more.
[original review]. A gossipy, at times unfocussed biography of the artist Francis Bacon. I was drawn to this book because it is credited as the source material for the delightful art-house movie "Love is the Devil" (for those who are interested, the young Daniel Craig plays boxer George Dyer, Bacon’s lover/ muse/ companion/ nemesis).
Francis Bacon seems to have been an extremely contradictory and paradoxical character, and I'm not sure how one can capture that in a book. The movie was hallucinogenic: unable to obtain rights to any of Bacon's art, they tried to film sequences in "the style of" Bacon, which actually improved the tone of movie.
However, this is supposed to be a book review. At times Farson makes the book more about himself than Bacon and indulges in gossip—I heard this, I heard that. Interesting, but not always perfectly executed.
Fans of Francis Bacon will be left wanting more. He pops up in biographies of Patrick White; early in Bacon's career he was a furniture designer and built a beautiful streamlined desk for White in London. Bacon also intersects with Beat writers such as Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, as well as innumerable artists and hangers-on.
This time around I found this book more serious and insightful. Is this the same book I reviewed before?
I was thrown by repeated references to Burroughs' novel "The Naked Lunch" (Naked Lunch: The Restored Text; however I do see early editions listed here with that title. Unfortunately Farson also calls the movie "The Naked Lunch" and the movie never had that title.
Much of this book is personal and intimate in terms of examining how friends come and go. Other painters, such as Lucian Freud, were friends with Bacon, until something happened, a burst of professional jealousy or an outburst of cruelty, and then they were friends no longer. As I say below, Freud was paradoxical, because he had strained relations with many others but could also be enormously kind to those he did not see as a threat.
In any event, I bumped up the rating. Perhaps if I read it again I will appreciate it even more.
[original review]. A gossipy, at times unfocussed biography of the artist Francis Bacon. I was drawn to this book because it is credited as the source material for the delightful art-house movie "Love is the Devil" (for those who are interested, the young Daniel Craig plays boxer George Dyer, Bacon’s lover/ muse/ companion/ nemesis).
Francis Bacon seems to have been an extremely contradictory and paradoxical character, and I'm not sure how one can capture that in a book. The movie was hallucinogenic: unable to obtain rights to any of Bacon's art, they tried to film sequences in "the style of" Bacon, which actually improved the tone of movie.
However, this is supposed to be a book review. At times Farson makes the book more about himself than Bacon and indulges in gossip—I heard this, I heard that. Interesting, but not always perfectly executed.
Fans of Francis Bacon will be left wanting more. He pops up in biographies of Patrick White; early in Bacon's career he was a furniture designer and built a beautiful streamlined desk for White in London. Bacon also intersects with Beat writers such as Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, as well as innumerable artists and hangers-on.
May 3, 2022
Because, after all, what are most painters interested in? In life. All artists are lovers, they're lovers of life, they want to see how they can set the traps so that life will come over more vividly and more violently [...] and one hopes the greatest art is a kind of valve in which very many hidden things of human feeling and destiny are trapped - something that can't be definitely and directly said.
I'd describe this more as a personal memoir than a conventional biography of Francis Bacon, and anyone looking for a kind of 'art criticism' book may well be disappointed. I came to this on the back of the shockingly intense recent Bacon exhibition at the Royal Academy where I was so blown away by the sheer power of violent emotions released by the paintings that I had to learn more about Bacon himself.
Daniel Farson, on the other hand, is far more interested in the man than the artist and while there's one chapter that consists of Bacon in interview discussing his work aesthetics, the majority of this book is an endlessly entertaining and unrepentantly gossipy wallow in the louche and raffish life that Farson shared with Bacon (as friends, not lovers) over about forty years in the early-late twentieth century.
Moving from gorgeously seedy Weimar Berlin to post-war Soho, Tangier to Paris in the 1970s and 80s, this is a cohort which seems to know everyone significant in the arts world: Lucian Freud, of course, Allan Ginsberg, Truman Capote, Gore Vidal and Christopher Isherwood, Paul Bowles, Sonia Orwell, Anne Fleming (wife of Ian, creator of James Bond) and, er, Princess Margaret all grace these pages. There are arguments and lovers, waspish spats and quite a lot of throwing alcohol in an opponent's face, one-night-stand sailors and oysters washed down with champagne.
It's raucous and rebellious, vivid and full of life. Did I learn much about Bacon's artistic agenda? No, not really, not more than I could experience for myself in front of his paintings - but I came away from this book with a sense of a man, a group, places and an era filled to the brim with messy, fleshy living.
May 5, 2022
The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon (1993) by Daniel Farson is a personal, somewhat scattershot portrait of British painter Francis Bacon (1909-1992).
Daniel Farson was a Soho face for decades, who spent time in Bohemian hangouts like the French pub, Wheeler's, the Caves de France, the Colony Rooms etc along with such luminaries as John Minton, Colin MacInnes, Nina Hamnett, Colin Wilson, Jeffrey Bernard, John Deakin, Henrietta Moraes, Dylan Thomas, Lucian Freud and, of course,his pal Francis Bacon. I have read another book by Daniel Farson - Soho In The Fifties - which is a readable and personal set of portraits of these celebrated inhabitants of Soho during the 1950s through to the late 1970s.
The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon does a similar job for Francis Bacon. It convincingly captures the many hours spent in Soho enjoying champagne lunches at Wheelers funded by the generous Bacon, drunken sessions at the Colony, feuds and squabbles, seductions, pick ups, outrageous scenes, and so on. In addition to being unapologetically homosexual in a narrow minded era he was also a sexual masochist whilst in company was often prone to making brutal and cruel comments. This combination makes for some incredibly colourful stories. One minor but telling example, he manages to drive customers out of a restaurant by his forthright and explicit comments including how he’d like to be “fucked by Colonel Gaddafi”.
It’s worth mentioning that Francis Bacon was unconvinced about this book. His friendship with Daniel Farson declined towards the end of his life. It also becomes very clear that Daniel Farson was exploiting their friendship.
If you want insights into what it was like to be in Francis Bacon's company and spend time in the Soho of his era, then this book provides a vivid portrait. If you are looking for something more structured, thoughtful and considered, or you want to find out more about Francis Bacon’s art, then look elsewhere. So, this is not really a biography, more of a personal portrait, although I did gain a few insights into Francis Bacon’s working patterns and his art, along with insights into Francis Bacon’s family, upbringing, life, career, and friends.
3/5
The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon (1993) by Daniel Farson….
Widely regarded as the best British painter since Turner, very little is known about Francis Bacon's life. In this, the first-ever book to be written about him, Daniel Farson, friend and confidant to Bacon for over forty years, gives a highly personal, first-hand account of the man as he knew him. From his sexual adventures to his rise from obscurity to international fame, Farson gives us unique insight into Bacon's genius.
Daniel Farson was a Soho face for decades, who spent time in Bohemian hangouts like the French pub, Wheeler's, the Caves de France, the Colony Rooms etc along with such luminaries as John Minton, Colin MacInnes, Nina Hamnett, Colin Wilson, Jeffrey Bernard, John Deakin, Henrietta Moraes, Dylan Thomas, Lucian Freud and, of course,his pal Francis Bacon. I have read another book by Daniel Farson - Soho In The Fifties - which is a readable and personal set of portraits of these celebrated inhabitants of Soho during the 1950s through to the late 1970s.
The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon does a similar job for Francis Bacon. It convincingly captures the many hours spent in Soho enjoying champagne lunches at Wheelers funded by the generous Bacon, drunken sessions at the Colony, feuds and squabbles, seductions, pick ups, outrageous scenes, and so on. In addition to being unapologetically homosexual in a narrow minded era he was also a sexual masochist whilst in company was often prone to making brutal and cruel comments. This combination makes for some incredibly colourful stories. One minor but telling example, he manages to drive customers out of a restaurant by his forthright and explicit comments including how he’d like to be “fucked by Colonel Gaddafi”.
It’s worth mentioning that Francis Bacon was unconvinced about this book. His friendship with Daniel Farson declined towards the end of his life. It also becomes very clear that Daniel Farson was exploiting their friendship.
If you want insights into what it was like to be in Francis Bacon's company and spend time in the Soho of his era, then this book provides a vivid portrait. If you are looking for something more structured, thoughtful and considered, or you want to find out more about Francis Bacon’s art, then look elsewhere. So, this is not really a biography, more of a personal portrait, although I did gain a few insights into Francis Bacon’s working patterns and his art, along with insights into Francis Bacon’s family, upbringing, life, career, and friends.
3/5
The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon (1993) by Daniel Farson….
Widely regarded as the best British painter since Turner, very little is known about Francis Bacon's life. In this, the first-ever book to be written about him, Daniel Farson, friend and confidant to Bacon for over forty years, gives a highly personal, first-hand account of the man as he knew him. From his sexual adventures to his rise from obscurity to international fame, Farson gives us unique insight into Bacon's genius.
April 11, 2012
The author was intimitately familiar with Bacon and the Soho art scene, including people like Douglas Cooper and Lucien Freud. This book is a serious appraisal by an informed participant. His portrait of Bacon is unsparing -- a man whom he both knew and admired as a genius, warts and all. A book worth looking at.
January 15, 2013
I absolutely loathe Bacon's paintings, but his life was fascinating. The post-war London art scene, the expats in Tangiers, the low dives of London's Soho... all were goldmines of eccentricity, perversion, and arched wit. This particular account is a bit too name-drop-y, so I had to skim through a lot to get to the lurid anecdotes. Worth it though.
April 24, 2014
Existence is in a way so banal, you may as well try and make a kind of grandeur of it.
Francis Bacon in conversation in Daniel Farson, The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon (London: Century, 1993), 10.
(Murmurs of Desire)
If you really love life you're walking in the shadow of death all the time...Death is the shadow of life, and the more one is obsessed with life the more one is obsesses with death. I'm greedy for life and I'm greedy as an artist.
Francis Bacon in conversation in Daniel Farson, The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon (London: Century, 1993), 11-12
I would like my pictures to look as if a human being had passed between them, like a snail, leaving a trail of the human presence and memory of the past events as the snail leaves its slime.
Francis Bacon in conversation in Daniel Farson, The Gilded Gutter Life of
Francis Bacon (London: Century, 1993), 218
Francis Bacon in conversation in Daniel Farson, The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon (London: Century, 1993), 10.
(Murmurs of Desire)
If you really love life you're walking in the shadow of death all the time...Death is the shadow of life, and the more one is obsessed with life the more one is obsesses with death. I'm greedy for life and I'm greedy as an artist.
Francis Bacon in conversation in Daniel Farson, The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon (London: Century, 1993), 11-12
I would like my pictures to look as if a human being had passed between them, like a snail, leaving a trail of the human presence and memory of the past events as the snail leaves its slime.
Francis Bacon in conversation in Daniel Farson, The Gilded Gutter Life of
Francis Bacon (London: Century, 1993), 218
October 30, 2022
Gisteren las ik dit boek uit. Ik verwachtte een biografie, maar dit werk gaat eigenlijk voornamelijk over de auteur die herinneringen ophaalt en anekdotes vertelt over zijn dolle tijd met Francis Bacon.
Je komt dus veel te weten over waar Bacon dineerde en sloten champagne liet vloeien, maar heel weinig over ‘s mans creatieve invloeden en aspiratie.
Desalniettemin: ontspannende lectuur, en dat telt ook.
Je komt dus veel te weten over waar Bacon dineerde en sloten champagne liet vloeien, maar heel weinig over ‘s mans creatieve invloeden en aspiratie.
Desalniettemin: ontspannende lectuur, en dat telt ook.
April 20, 2023
Very interesting book, but the way it's written is kinda strange. Very long paragraphs, that wander around, make for exhausting reading.
The author new Bacon well, so talks about himself a lot, I wasn't really expecting that. Slightly less scandal than I'd hoped for.
The author new Bacon well, so talks about himself a lot, I wasn't really expecting that. Slightly less scandal than I'd hoped for.
July 28, 2021
I expected more of this. For me there was too much art and not enough Bacon. It reads like an essay rather than a story.
October 8, 2016
Having to give up on this one just because Francis Bacon's life makes mine feel small and lonely.
February 28, 2023
Francis Bacon: una vita dorata nei bassifondi (a golden life in the slums), is a biography written by a close relative of Bacon. It was written during the final years of his life as - probably - an unauthorised biography. This a book about the life of one of the most important artists of the Twentieth century and probably the most prominent painter in England. It was part of the School of London a broad artistic movement during the 20th century, which was interested in figurative paintings, in contrast to abstraction, minimalism and conceptualism. Among the most important artists of the School of London, were Lucian Freud, David Hockney and Frank Auerbach. Francis Bacon was a figurative painter known for his violent and distorted figures. His work focused mainly on the human form, among his most important subjects there were crucifixion, portraits of the popes, self-portraits and portraits of his friends and boyfriends.
The book has been published in an edition solely in Italian and French: I could not find an English edition which is strange as Bacon was an Irish-born British artist and his author was also English. I would have preferred to read it in English. This book is probably a too-short biography for one the greatest artist in the history of art. The book does give little pieces of information about the economic and social cirmunstases in which Bacon developed his work which is one of my main interests to understand an artist's career in a biography. However, as I am an artist, it is always interesting to read about my favourite artist such as Francis Bacon. There are so few good books about the artist's life that I like and this is a fair good book. In this work, there are some descriptions of the life of the post-war years in London until Bacon died in the 1980s. It was the bohemian London, cheap to live in and full of artists, culture and sociality. Nothing compared to the London of the 2000s when I lived there: expensive with few artists because they could not afford to live in the capital anymore. I lived in the South Kensington area at the time not far from Bacon's studio and Soho where he spent most of his time: it was fascinating to read about it. Although this biography confuses me about the different names among the social group Bacon, it still presents some anectodes that are of interest such as Bacon's relationship with his enormous economic success and death. I believe that Bacon had a fear of death, because of his attachment to material things such as gambling, drinking expensive wines and frequenting expensive clubs and bars in central London. This automatically created a depression for himself often worsted by drinking heavily.
If you are interested and like Francis Bacon and his work, I would highly suggest reading this book.
The book has been published in an edition solely in Italian and French: I could not find an English edition which is strange as Bacon was an Irish-born British artist and his author was also English. I would have preferred to read it in English. This book is probably a too-short biography for one the greatest artist in the history of art. The book does give little pieces of information about the economic and social cirmunstases in which Bacon developed his work which is one of my main interests to understand an artist's career in a biography. However, as I am an artist, it is always interesting to read about my favourite artist such as Francis Bacon. There are so few good books about the artist's life that I like and this is a fair good book. In this work, there are some descriptions of the life of the post-war years in London until Bacon died in the 1980s. It was the bohemian London, cheap to live in and full of artists, culture and sociality. Nothing compared to the London of the 2000s when I lived there: expensive with few artists because they could not afford to live in the capital anymore. I lived in the South Kensington area at the time not far from Bacon's studio and Soho where he spent most of his time: it was fascinating to read about it. Although this biography confuses me about the different names among the social group Bacon, it still presents some anectodes that are of interest such as Bacon's relationship with his enormous economic success and death. I believe that Bacon had a fear of death, because of his attachment to material things such as gambling, drinking expensive wines and frequenting expensive clubs and bars in central London. This automatically created a depression for himself often worsted by drinking heavily.
If you are interested and like Francis Bacon and his work, I would highly suggest reading this book.
August 10, 2022
This book had its ups and downs. Some interesting and funny (and sometimes tragic) anecdotes and pieces of conversations, however I found little Bacon in it. There was almost too much information on people Bacon drank with at various pubs and restaurants, as well as lots of gossip as someone already mentioned. Okay book, but I am sure there are better books on Bacon out there
April 21, 2024
Masterpiece for anyone who is interested in having a direct insight into several slices of life of the great painter. A very well written biography that incorporates in a chronological order the evolution of the artist career and emotional development. Bacon is undoubtedly one of the greatest painters of the 20th century, and this biography by Farson gives him justice.
March 15, 2025
Interesting, although the author’s determination to convince of his own relevance at every turn was grating to say the least. My favourite* part was where he took umbrage at Bacon moving into a house on a street where the author had previously lived as though this constituted some gross betrayal.
*I enjoy being irritated
*I enjoy being irritated
April 15, 2018
Francis Bacon's work will always speak for itself, and for him, with unflinching and passionate power. A biography is made of different material, but GILDED GUTTER LIFE works to give us an honest and human-sized Bacon.
December 15, 2023
An extraordinarily close glimpse into the life of a beautiful, horrible genius. Two things stick out: Bacon’s cruelty but also his extreme generosity. It’s also incredibly funny, even while being awfully grim at times. Thoroughly recommend if you have any interest in the guy.
June 25, 2019
Pretty good book. Rushed it due to my dissertation deadline. Nice insight into Francis.
April 15, 2021
Very interesting view of life and culture in the 50s and 60s and an insight into Bacon himself.
June 2, 2022
Wonderful!
February 15, 2024
Slowed down in the second half as he becomes less likeable
April 4, 2024
Great read - what a character and loved the anecdotal stories of Bacon’s sharp wit and scathing put-downs - genius
July 1, 2024
One of Bacon’s closest pals tells cheeky stories about the artist’s life in detail. I would’ve loved to share a pint with him and Lucian Freud in mid-century Soho.
August 26, 2025
I love the antiquated, kinda mid century way this is written. Only thing I remember is Francis wants to shag Gaddaffi.
January 25, 2010
I enjoyed reading this book. His friend wrote it as a memoir because Francis didn't want a 'biography' about himself, or anything published in his lifetime. The author knew him well and told many stories from his life with many quotes. Most every chapter starts with a Francis Bacon quote. His emotional range went from severely cutting to mothering. I think I learned more about his vies on art from reading the book of interviews, but this gives a fuller picture and has photos from his life and family/friends.
Many assume his work is about violence, a quote about his work and it's relationship to violence, "It's to do with an attempt to remake the violence of reality itself. And the violence of reality is not only the simple violence meat when you say a rose or something is violent, but it's the violence also of the suggestions within the image which can only be conveyed through paint." At another point he talked about the beauty in seeing something like an accident in the road with the blood against the concrete with bodies scattered randomly and glass among the bodies. He looked at the world in this way as an artist seeing shapes and images.
He was part of what became known as the School of London, that included Lucian Freud, Michael Andrews, Frank Auebach and Tim Behrens. All artist Francis mostly drank with.
Many assume his work is about violence, a quote about his work and it's relationship to violence, "It's to do with an attempt to remake the violence of reality itself. And the violence of reality is not only the simple violence meat when you say a rose or something is violent, but it's the violence also of the suggestions within the image which can only be conveyed through paint." At another point he talked about the beauty in seeing something like an accident in the road with the blood against the concrete with bodies scattered randomly and glass among the bodies. He looked at the world in this way as an artist seeing shapes and images.
He was part of what became known as the School of London, that included Lucian Freud, Michael Andrews, Frank Auebach and Tim Behrens. All artist Francis mostly drank with.
December 9, 2013
francis bacon was both the flame that drew all to his charisma and the flame that burnt most of them to ash too. daniel farson was his good friend and got himself burnt pretty bad too, but he took notes, and pics along the way, and after bacon passed away, wrote this unorthodox bio of one of the greatest painters of the 20th century, according to most. the best bits to me are farson;s loving evocations of the bars and cafes where they hung out, drinking way way too much at the colony and french pub, and eating lots and lots of oysters and fish at wheelers, along with ship loads of champagne. a fun and fascinating chronicle of soho in the 40's-80's and good companion to tell-alots like art pepper's Straight Life and larry river's What Did I Do?: The Unauthorized Autobiography of Larry Rivers
August 13, 2014
I saw the Bacon exhibit in 1985 (referenced in this book) and to me it felt like he was the only other person in the world who understood my pain (in my defence, I WAS only 21...) Then, years later, I watched Love is the Devil with Derek Jacobi as Bacon and Daniel Craig as George Dyer and loved it - it totally captured the spirit of the paintings. I wanted to know more and so eventually, after meaning to for ages, got round to this book. It set me off to the film again where Daniel Farson appears (played by Adrian Scarborough) and to me the two texts (if you'll pardon the rather pretentious term) complement each other perfectly. Farson knew his reluctant subject pretty well and the book inevitably
portrays a more complex character than the film could - less vile and bitchy, genuinely devastated at George's death. I recommend both the book and the film heartily.
Now to find that YouTube clip where he has got Melvyn Bragg pissed...
portrays a more complex character than the film could - less vile and bitchy, genuinely devastated at George's death. I recommend both the book and the film heartily.
Now to find that YouTube clip where he has got Melvyn Bragg pissed...
May 22, 2013
This is my second favourite biography of the last 10 years. (The first is Wendy Moffat's superb biography of EM Forster). Like the Moffat, one reads this with notepad at hand (modern people will use iPad or iPhone - Jenny) to jot down the names of other interesting people and books.
This is not an academic biography but rather a friend of 45 years writing a memoir of that relationship, as well as some information about Bacon. Most surprisingly it is very funny and incredibly witty in that oh so terribly terribly English way.
Also it should be noted that one doesn't need to be a fan of Bacon's art at all. Those seeking analysis and meaning as to Bacon's art should steer clear, but anyone interested in the man read asap.
This is not an academic biography but rather a friend of 45 years writing a memoir of that relationship, as well as some information about Bacon. Most surprisingly it is very funny and incredibly witty in that oh so terribly terribly English way.
Also it should be noted that one doesn't need to be a fan of Bacon's art at all. Those seeking analysis and meaning as to Bacon's art should steer clear, but anyone interested in the man read asap.
January 29, 2009
The cliche that great art is made by monsters is reaffirmed here, from a personal viewpoint of one of his acquaintances/friends of the time. Worth reading for the insight and stories from the post-war art scene, louche, dirty, gloriously self-obsessed and often accurate about the price to be paid for pursuing the life of an artist. Francis would have been happier if he'd gone fishing more, rather than just eating in Wheeler's fish restaurant in Soho.
March 4, 2013
I absolutely loved this book! I adore Soho and enjoy reading about it's characters, so I wasn't disappointed here. I even loved the sections dealing with Bacon's art. The writing could have been dry, but I lapped it up. A must, after reading this, is to view his South Bank Show on YouTube, where Bacon gets Bragg a trifle squiffy!
June 19, 2013
Intimate and personal recollections from a close friend best describe this book. It delves into the manic behavior that characterized Bacon's alcohol infused life while not neglecting the art. Like Bacon, at times it is outrageous, at other times it is quietly introspective.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews