James Lord (November 27, 1922 – August 23, 2009) was an American writer. He was the author of several books, including critically acclaimed biographies of

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 ...

and

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

. He appeared in the

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

s '' Balthus Through the Looking Glass'' (1996) and '' Picasso: Magic, Sex, Death'' (2001).

Life and career

Lord was born in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

, and grew up there, the son of Louise and Albert Lord. His father was a stockbroker, and until the Wall Street crash the family lived, as Lord put it, in "the lower echelons of the upper classes". He graduated from Englewood School for Boys (now

Dwight-Englewood School The Dwight-Englewood School (D-E) is an independent coeducational college-preparatory day school, located in Englewood in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school teaches students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in ...

) in 1940. Lord attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

, though he never earned a degree. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was part of the

Ritchie Boys The Ritchie Boys, part of the U.S. Military Intelligence Service (MIS) at the War Department, were an organization of soldiers in World War II with sizable numbers of German and Austrian recruits who were used primarily for interrogation of pri ...

who specialized in Military Intelligence. He wrote about his experiences in his book, ''My Queer War'' which discusses keeping his homosexuality carefully hidden."Lord writes about 'the inconvenience of being queer' during the Second World War with unsparing bravery.", ''My Queer War'' (excerpt of a review on the back cover), Farrar, Straus and Giroux: New York (2010); (hardcover). Lord died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in Paris, at the age of 86.

In popular culture

The 2017 movie '' Final Portrait'' retells the story of his friendship with the painter Alberto Giacometti. Lord is played by

Armie Hammer Armand Douglas Hammer (born August 28, 1986) is an American actor. He began his acting career with guest appearances in several television series. His first leading role was as Billy Graham in the 2008 film '' Billy: The Early Years'' and Hamme ...

Selected bibliography

Biographies and novels

* * * * * * * * * * *

Essays

References

External links

* James Lord Papers. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lord, James 1922 births 2009 deaths American male non-fiction writers Dwight-Englewood School alumni American gay writers LGBTQ people from New Jersey Writers from Englewood, New Jersey Wesleyan University alumni 20th-century American biographers 20th-century American male writers Ritchie Boys American expatriates in France 20th-century American LGBTQ people