Description

A rich penetrating memoir about the authors relationship with a flawed but influential figurethe painter Lucian Freudand the satisfactions and struggles of a life lived through art

One of Britains most important contemporary painters Celia Paul has written a reflective intimate memoir of her life as an artist SelfPortrait tells the artists story in her own words drawn from early journal entries as well as memory of her childhood in India and her days as a art student at Londons Slade School of Fine Art of her intense decadeslong relationship with the older esteemed painter Lucian Freud and the birth of their son of the challenges of motherhood the unresolvable conflict between caring for a child and remaining committed to art of the invisible skeins between people the profound familial connections Paul communicates through her paintings of her mother and sisters and finally of the mystical presence in her own solitary vision of the world around her

SelfPortrait is a powerful liberating evocation of a life and of a lifelong dedication to art

Contains mature themes