James Lord met Swiss-born sculptor Alberto Giacometti (1901-66) in 1952, when he had moved beyond the mysterious surrealist works that first won him fame (The Palace at 4 A.M.) to the spookily attenuated figures that made him a preeminent profiler of existential unease. Lord astutely chronicles this transformation, and the evaluation of Giacometti's formidable personality is notable for its sensitive delineation of his ambivalent feelings toward women. Without scanting the sculptor's tragic view of life, the author also inspires exhilaration with his portrait of a man who was always true to his art.


The New York Times Book Review, Dan Hofstadter
... [a] fascinating new biography.... Mr. Lord writes especially vividly about the late periods, after 1952, when he got to know Giacometti, and about its major calamity, the arrival of fame and fortune.... [Lord] is a keen psychologist, given to the sort of convoluted probing one finds so often in old French diaries and letters.


Review
"Lord has written the most moving biography of a modern artist I've read."--Newsweek

"Succeeds in every way as one of the most readable, fascinating and informative documents, not just on an artist, but on art and artists in general."--The Washington Times



Review
"Lord has written the most moving biography of a modern artist I've read."--Newsweek

"Succeeds in every way as one of the most readable, fascinating and informative documents, not just on an artist, but on art and artists in general."--The Washington Times



Review
"Lord has written the most moving biography of a modern artist I've read."--Newsweek

"Succeeds in every way as one of the most readable, fascinating and informative documents, not just on an artist, but on art and artists in general."--The Washington Times



Book Description
The work of one of the towering creative spirits of the century, Alberto Giacometti's visionary sculptures and paintings from a testament to the artist's intriguing life story. From modest beginnings in a Swiss village, Giacometti went on to flourish in the picturesque milieu of prewar Paris and then to achieve international acclaim in the fifties and sixties. Picasso, Balthus, Samuel Beckett, Stravinsky and Sartre have parts in his story, along with flamboyant art dealers, whores, shady drifters, unscrupulous collectors, poets and thieves. Women were a complex yet important element of his life--particularly his wife, Annette, and his last mistress and model, Caroline--as was the intimate relationship he shared with his brother Diego, who was both Alberto's confidant and collaborator.

James Lord was personally acquainted with Giacometti and his entourage, and combines firsthand experience with a unique knowledge gathered during many years of observation and research. In this exceptional biography Lord unfolds the personal history of a man who managed to achieve a heroic destiny by remaining utterly true to himself and to his calling.

Giacometti: A Biography was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. James Lord has subsequently published three volumes of memoirs. In recognition of his contribution to French culture he has been made an officer of the Legion of Honour.



About the Author
James Lord first went to France at age twenty-one as a member of the Military Intelligence Service during World War II. Since then he has spent the major part of his life in Paris, where he has been acquainted with many of the most prominent members of modern European art. In recognition of his contribution to French culture he has been made an officer of the Legion of Honour.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

James Lord's biography of Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) is a classic of twentieth-century biography, a book Newsweek's critic called the "most moving biography of a modern artist I've read".

Giacometti's strange, passionate genius had its beginning in the tiny Swiss village of Borgonovo, flourished in prewar Paris, and came to fruition in the fifties and sixties, when his visionary sculptures and paintings brought him recognition as one of the towering creative spirits of the century. Picasso, Stravinsky, Beckett, Balthus, and Sartre pass through the story, along with flamboyant art dealers, whores, shady drifters, and homosexual poets and thieves. Of special interest are Giacometti's relationships with his wife, Annette; his last mistress and model, Caroline; and his brother Diego, his lifelong confidant and collaborator. Lord, who was close to the artist and his entourage, brings unique perception to the resources gathered during many years of observation and research. In a biography of great literary distinction, Lord shows how Giacometti made his life a heroic destiny by being utterly true to himself and his calling.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly