Michael Peppiatt

Michael Peppiatt is an author, critic, and art historian. He graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1964 and initially worked as an art critic for The Observer magazine. He then moved to Paris to work as an editor for Realites magazine. He remained in the French capital until 1969, collaborating as an arts editor for the newspaper Le Monde during this time. In the mid-1970s, he covered cultural events across Europe for The New York Times and The Financial Times while also serving as a Paris correspondent for various art magazines, including Art News and Art International. In 1985, Peppiatt became the editor of Art International, which was relaunched in Paris. In 1994, he returned to London and wrote the biography of Francis Bacon (1909-1992), with whom he had been close friends for thirty years. Bacon's biography was selected as "Book of the Year" by The New York Times and translated into many languages, and it continues to be regarded as the most comprehensive and definitive account of the great painter's life and work. Peppiatt has curated numerous exhibitions, mainly retrospectives, around the world, including those of the School of London, Francis Bacon, Alberto Giacometti, Christian Schad, and Antoni Tapies. In 2005, he was awarded a doctorate from the University of Cambridge for his publications on 20th-century art. He is a member of the Society of Authors and the Royal Society of Literature.