Michael Henry Peppiatt (born 9 October 1941) is an English

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

, curator and writer.

Biography

Son of Edward George Peppiatt (died 1983), B.Sc, ARCS, of Silver Birches,

Stocking Pelham Stocking Pelham is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is located on the border with Essex, around 6 miles (10 km) east of Buntingford. The village is one of the three Pelhams, alon ...

, near

Buntingford Buntingford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It lies next to the River Rib and is located on the historic Roman road, Ermine Street. As a ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, technical and production director for a pharmaceutical manufacturing company, and Elsa Eugénie (née Schlaich; died 1997).

Education and career

Michael Peppiatt studied at Brentwood School, Essex, at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

, and at Trinity Hall,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

(BA 1964, MA 1985, PhD) and subsequently joined ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' as a junior art critic. He then went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to take up an editorial job at '' Réalités'' magazine, where he remained until 1969, when he was appointed arts editor at ''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

''. In the mid-1970s he began reporting on cultural events across Europe for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and ''

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', becoming Paris correspondent for several art magazines, notably '' Art News'' and ''

Art International ''Art International'' known as ''Art International Magazine'', was an art journal based in Switzerland and issued 10 times per year, before moving to Paris, where it was issued quarterly. James A. Fitzsimmons was the magazine's first chief editor ...

''. In 1985, Peppiatt became owner and editor of ''Art International'', which he relaunched from Paris, devoting special issues to the artists he most admired. In 1994, Peppiatt returned to London with his wife, the art historian Jill Lloyd, and their two children, where he wrote the biography of

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

(1909–1992), whose close friend and commentator he had been for thirty years. Chosen as a "Book of the Year" by ''The New York Times'' and translated into several languages, the biography is considered the definitive account of Bacon's life and work. Peppiatt has curated numerous exhibitions worldwide, notably travelling retrospectives of the School of London,

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, Drafter, draftsman and Printmaking, printmaker, who was one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century. His work was particularly influenced ...

, Christian Schad and

Antoni Tàpies Antoni Tàpies i Puig, 1st Marquess of Tápies, Marquess of Tàpies (; 13 December 1923 – 6 February 2012) was a Catalans, Catalan painter, sculptor, and art theorist. Life The son of Josep Tàpies i Mestre and Maria Puig i Guerra, Antoni T ...

. In 2009, Peppiatt curated an exhibition of sculpture by Dado for the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

, a Maillol retrospective for Barcelona, and a

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

-Bacon exhibit for the

Galleria Borghese The or Borghese Gallery is an art gallery in Rome, Italy, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. At the outset, the gallery building was integrated with its gardens, but nowadays the Villa Borghese gardens are considered a separate touri ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In 2005, Peppiatt was awarded a Ph.D by the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

for his publications on

20th-century art Twentieth-century art—and what it became as modern art—began with modernism in the late nineteenth century. Overview Nineteenth-century movements of Post-Impressionism (), Art Nouveau and Symbolism led to the first twentieth-century art mov ...

. He is a member of the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. Membership of the society is open to "anyon ...

and the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

, and since 2010 he has been on the board of the

Palazzo delle Esposizioni The Palazzo delle Esposizioni is a Neoclassicism, neoclassical exhibition hall, cultural center and museum on Via Nazionale (Rome), Via Nazionale in Rome, Italy. History Designed by Pio Piacentini, it opened in 1883. It has housed several exhi ...

. In 2012, Peppiatt published ''Interviews with Artists'', a book of more than forty interviews with personalities ranging from

Jean Dubuffet Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (; 31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French Painting, painter and sculpture, sculptor of the School of Paris, École de Paris (School of Paris). His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" a ...

Balthus Balthasar Klossowski de Rola (February 29, 1908 – February 18, 2001), known as Balthus, was a Polish-French modern artist. He is known for his erotically charged images of pubescent girls, but also for the refined, dreamlike quality of his ima ...

, and

Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was b ...

to Brassai,

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French artist and Humanist photography, humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 135 film, 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street ...

, and

. An exhibition on this theme was shown at Eykyn Maclean in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Peppiatt curated a Miró exhibition that travelled from the Bucerius Kunst Forum in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

to the Kunstsammlung,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, in 2014–15. Peppiatt's latest memoir, ''Francis Bacon in Your Blood'', was published by Bloomsbury in August 2015. In 2018, Peppiatt curated the exhibition ''Bacon/Giacometti'' at the Beyeler Foundation,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. In 2022, Peppiatt curated the exhibition, ''Francis Bacon: Man and Beast'', at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, London. The exhibition charts the development of Bacon's work through the lens of his fascination with animals and its impact on his treatment of the human figure. Peppiatt serves on the advisory council of the UK Friends of the

National Museum of Women in the Arts The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C., is "the first museum in the world solely dedicated" to championing women through the arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Since openi ...

. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Historical Society.

Bibliography

*1964: ''Modern Art in Britain'' *1976: ''Francis Bacon: l’art de l’impossible'' (trans. with Michel Leiris) *1983: ''Imagination’s Chamber: Artists and their Studios'' (with Alice Bellony Rewald) *1987: ''The School of London'' *1997: ''Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma'' *2000: ''Zoran Music'' *2001: ''Alberto Giacometti in Post-War Paris'' *2002: ''Aristide Maillol'' *2003: ''Christian Schad and the Neue Sachlichkeit'' (ed. with Jill Lloyd) *2003: ''Dans l’atelier de Giacometti'' *2003: ''Vincent van Gogh'' *2004: ''Francis Bacon: le sacré et le profane'' *2006: ''L’amitié Leiris-Bacon: Une étrange fascination'' *2006: ''Francis Bacon in the 1950s'' *2006: ''Les dilemmes de Jean Dubuffet'' *2007: ''Van Gogh and Expressionism'' (ed. with Jill Lloyd) *2008 ''Francis Bacon in the 1950s'' *2008: ''Francis Bacon: Studies for a Portrait'' *2008: ''Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma'' (revised edition) *2009: ''Caravaggio/Bacon'' *2010: ''In Giacometti's Studio'' *2010: ''Alberto Giacometti: An Intimate Portrait'' *2012: ''Interviews with Artists (1966–2012)'' *2013: '' Giacometti and

Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French ph ...

: A Double Portrait'' *2014: ''Art Plural: Voices of Contemporary Art'' *2014: ''

'' *2014: ''

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...

: A Painter among Poets'' *2015: ''Francis Bacon In Your Blood: A Memoir'' *2017: ''David Hockney, Souvenirs'' *2019: ''The Existential Englishman'' *2020: ''The Making of Modern Art: Selected Essays'' *2021: ''Francis Bacon: Studies for a Portrait'' (revised and enlarged edition) *2021: ''Conversations avec Adrian Ghenie'' *2021: ''Bacon/Giacometti: A Dialogue'' *2021: ''Francis Bacon: Man and Beast'' *2021: ''Only Too Much Is Enough: Francis Bacon In His Own Words'' *2023: ''Artists' Lives'' *2023: ''Giacometti in Paris'' *2024: ''Francis Bacon:'' ''A Self-Portrait in Words''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peppiatt, Michael 1941 births Living people Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge English art critics English art historians The New York Times journalists