Read Queer Saint - The Cultured Life of Peter Watson

Queer Saint - The Cultured Life of Peter Watson

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Description:Was Peter Watson murdered in his bath by a jealous boyfriend in 1956 ? Murder or suicide, the art world lost one of its wealthiest, most influential patrons. This attractive man, adored by Cecil Beaton; a man who was called a legend by contemporaries, who was the subject of two scandalous novels, and who helped launch the careers of Francis Bacon, John Craxton and Lucian Freud, fell victim to a fortune-hungry lover. Elegant and hungrily sexual, Peter Watson had a taste for edgy boyfriends. He was the unrequited love of Cecil Beaton’s life – his ‘queer saint’ – but Peter preferred the risk of less sophisticated lovers, including the beautiful, volatile, drug-addicted prostitute Denham Fouts. Peter’s thirst for adventure took him through the cabaret culture of 1930s Berlin, the demi-monde and aristocratic salons of pre-war Paris, English high society, and the glitz of Hollywood’s golden age. Gore Vidal described him as ‘a charming man, tall, thin, perverse. One of those intricate English queer types who usually end up as field marshals, but because he was so rich he never had to do anything.’ Truman Capote called him ‘not just another rich queen, but – in a stooped, intellectual, bitter-lipped style – one of the most personable men in England’. More than just a gay playboy, Peter Watson was a renowned connoisseur, and fuelled the engine of mid-twentieth century art with his enormous wealth. Without his patronage, Bacon and Freud might have failed before they’d got started. He also founded the influential British arts journal Horizon with Cyril Connolly and Stephen Spender, and was one of the core founders of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, and organised most of its early exhibitions. From the mystery of his obscure family origins to the enigma surrounding his premature death, this book follows Peter Watson through an odyssey of the mid twentieth century, from high society to sweaty underworld, and discovers a man tormented by depression and doubt; he ultimately wanted love and a sense of self-worth but instead found angst and a squalid death. ‘PETER WATSON (1908–1956), LONG FORGOTTEN AS AN ASTUTE GREY EMINENCE IN THE ART WORLD OF HIS DAY, DISCERNING COLLECTOR OF PAINTINGS, PATRON OF THE YOUNG AND PROMISING, FOUNDER AND BENEFACTOR OF THE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS, IS AT LAST AND DESERVEDLY THE SUBJECT OF A SCRUPULOUS AND COMPELLING INVESTIGATION’ - BRIAN SEWELL ‘THIS COMPELLING REDISCOVERY OF THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER WATSON CASTS NEW LIGHT ON THE INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC WORLD OF MID-TWENTIETH-CENTURY BRITAIN: THE WORLD OF BACON AND FREUD, CYRIL CONNOLLY AND STEPHEN SPENDER’ - LOYD GROSSMAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE HERITAGE ALLIANCEWe have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Queer Saint - The Cultured Life of Peter Watson. To get started finding Queer Saint - The Cultured Life of Peter Watson, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

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ISBN: 1784186287

Description: Was Peter Watson murdered in his bath by a jealous boyfriend in 1956 ? Murder or suicide, the art world lost one of its wealthiest, most influential patrons. This attractive man, adored by Cecil Beaton; a man who was called a legend by contemporaries, who was the subject of two scandalous novels, and who helped launch the careers of Francis Bacon, John Craxton and Lucian Freud, fell victim to a fortune-hungry lover. Elegant and hungrily sexual, Peter Watson had a taste for edgy boyfriends. He was the unrequited love of Cecil Beaton’s life – his ‘queer saint’ – but Peter preferred the risk of less sophisticated lovers, including the beautiful, volatile, drug-addicted prostitute Denham Fouts. Peter’s thirst for adventure took him through the cabaret culture of 1930s Berlin, the demi-monde and aristocratic salons of pre-war Paris, English high society, and the glitz of Hollywood’s golden age. Gore Vidal described him as ‘a charming man, tall, thin, perverse. One of those intricate English queer types who usually end up as field marshals, but because he was so rich he never had to do anything.’ Truman Capote called him ‘not just another rich queen, but – in a stooped, intellectual, bitter-lipped style – one of the most personable men in England’. More than just a gay playboy, Peter Watson was a renowned connoisseur, and fuelled the engine of mid-twentieth century art with his enormous wealth. Without his patronage, Bacon and Freud might have failed before they’d got started. He also founded the influential British arts journal Horizon with Cyril Connolly and Stephen Spender, and was one of the core founders of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, and organised most of its early exhibitions. From the mystery of his obscure family origins to the enigma surrounding his premature death, this book follows Peter Watson through an odyssey of the mid twentieth century, from high society to sweaty underworld, and discovers a man tormented by depression and doubt; he ultimately wanted love and a sense of self-worth but instead found angst and a squalid death. ‘PETER WATSON (1908–1956), LONG FORGOTTEN AS AN ASTUTE GREY EMINENCE IN THE ART WORLD OF HIS DAY, DISCERNING COLLECTOR OF PAINTINGS, PATRON OF THE YOUNG AND PROMISING, FOUNDER AND BENEFACTOR OF THE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS, IS AT LAST AND DESERVEDLY THE SUBJECT OF A SCRUPULOUS AND COMPELLING INVESTIGATION’ - BRIAN SEWELL ‘THIS COMPELLING REDISCOVERY OF THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER WATSON CASTS NEW LIGHT ON THE INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC WORLD OF MID-TWENTIETH-CENTURY BRITAIN: THE WORLD OF BACON AND FREUD, CYRIL CONNOLLY AND STEPHEN SPENDER’ - LOYD GROSSMAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE HERITAGE ALLIANCEWe have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Queer Saint - The Cultured Life of Peter Watson. To get started finding Queer Saint - The Cultured Life of Peter Watson, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

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Queer Saint - The Cultured Life of Peter Watson

Queer Saint - The Cultured Life of Peter Watson

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