Gilbert & George, A Portrait

Farson, Daniel

ISBN 10: 0002558572 / ISBN 13: 9780002558570

Published by Harper Collins, London, 1999

About this Item

Very slight yellowing to page edges. Not price-clipped. A signed copy of the artists' reminiscences, written by their friend Daniel Farson (himself a fascinating art-world figure). Signed by both Gilbert and George ('With lots of love' - but with no dedication) at a bookshop appearances, in which they charmed everyone (and delivered flowers to the staff the following day). A true UK first edition/first printing, with numbers 987654321 present on the numberline. 30 illustrations (half in colour), including photographs of the artists as children. A fantastic copy of a hugely collectible book.

Seller Inventory # 000022

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Gilbert & George, A Portrait
• Publisher: Harper Collins, London
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0002558572
• ISBN 13: 9780002558570
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

Gilbert and George are now recognized as two of the most important living artists on the international scene. In their sculptures, photography, paintings, and performance pieces, they have proven themselves to be both amusing and subversive social commentators. Immensely popular in their native Britain as well as abroad, their work has been the subject of major exhibitions throughout Europe, Asia, and America--including an upcoming retrospective at London's Tate Gallery. Now Daniel Farson, with the full cooperation of Gilbert and George, has written a candid and intimate biography of the artists; entertaining, anecdotal, and richly informative, it reveals what lies behind the art world's most famously inscrutable double act. Daniel Farson is an art critic, biographer, and best-selling author. His books include Sacred Monsters, Jack the Ripper, The Man Who Wrote Dracula, Never a Normal Man, and The Gilded Gutter Life of Frances Bacon, which Booklist hailed as "a deliciously vibrant portrait."

Review

This affectionate, almost loving portrait of two of Britain's most distinguished and controversial artists is made all the more poignant by the fact that the biographer, art journalist and author Daniel Farson, died while writing it. Being about Gilbert & George, the salacious material is fairly unorthodox--the most shocking revelation is that George married as a young man and has two children--and for the most part Farson is almost apologetic about any intrusion into Proesch and Passmore's (their surnames) private lives. The first half of the book takes us from their childhoods in the Dolomites and Tiverton via their meeting at St. Martin's School of Art in the late 1960s to their current status as art icons. The second half sees Farson following them around--Moscow, Shanghai, Barnstable--as they exhibit around the world. Farson wisely highlights his admiration at the outset, and the reader is clear that this is no hatchet job. That said, he covers both the art and the lives with a straightforward professionalism that is never less than absorbing. This book is a fine tribute to Gilbert & George; equally, their closing words are a fine tribute to Farson: "On 27 November our dear Daniel died, not knowing how much we loved him (though we told him often enough)." --Nick Wroe