Breakfast with Lucian: A Portrait of the Artist, by Geordie Greig – review

Frances Spalding on one of the most revealing accounts of Lucian Freud ever writtenGeordie Greig's book is an unapologetic mixture of intelligent perception and high gossip. It deepens the reader's understanding of Lucian Freud, as both man and artist, but it also connives with the kind of mythology that stultifies inquiry. It is both fascinating and appalling. Freud had a reputation for being a man with no boundaries. This book likewise heeds no conventional restraints, mixes genres, seeps into questionable places, and fills gaps with cumulatively repetitive and often mawkish interviews with Freud's models, or connective passages that might have come straight out of Who's Who – were they not entirely concerned with sexual history. And yet no person interested in Freud will ignore this book. It is, overall, more revealing than anything about him yet written.It begins benignly, in Clarke's, a light-filled upmarket restaurant, with starched white tablecloths, in Kensington Church Street. Here, for at least the last decade of his life, Freud breakfasted most days of the week. He would enter via the delicatessen next door, as breakfast is not normally served, and was usually accompanied by David Dawson, his assistant, who brought all the broadsheets and the Daily Mail, which they spread over the large circular table at the back of the room. Guests, too, might be invited, especially on Saturday mornings, when the gathering sometimes swelled to a small salon. One regular was... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]

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High Court reviews for library closures

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 04/05/2011 - 09:15 Somerset and Gloucestershire county councils have been landed with a judicial review in the High Court over their plans to close over 20 libraries. Somerset County Council plans to withdraw funding for 11 libraries while... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #library closures #judicial review #high court #withdraw funding


'Los Angeles Review of Books' Debuts Preview Site

In the first step of a two-phase launch, the long-awaited Los Angeles Review of Books has debuted its preview site at lareviewofbooks.org with essays and reviews by Ben Ehrenreich, Geoff Nicholson, Jane Smiley, Jefferson Hunter, and Richard Prince. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Recommendation and review 'less important' for online shoppers

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 15/03/2011 - 09:58 Price and range have been highlighted as the most important factors in buying habits of online book buyers, with recommendation and review less crucial. In a survey of 91,500 customers worldwide on the Book Depository's... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kindle gets real page numbers; better note, highlight & review sharing

By Tim Conneally, Betanews Amazon on Monday pre-released a software update for Kindle e-readers running the 3.0 software which updates the interface for magazines and newspapers, adds a quick review section at the end of each book, and adds page numbers that match Kindle books with their print... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2011-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PA opposes review of Digital Economy Act

Written By: Charlotte Williams The Publishers Association [PA] has attacked the culture secretary's decision to allow communications watchdog Ofcom to "delay" the Digital Economy Act. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced yesterday [1st February] that Ofcom is to assess whether the Act's... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #charlotte williams #culture secretary #copyright infringement