Uplifting and engaging, this story recounts the life and career of a rebellious 20th-century British artist Born into a large, musical, and bohemian family in London, the British artist John Craxton (1922–2009) has been described as a Neo-Romantic, but he called himself a “kind of Arcadian”. His early art was influenced by Blake, Palmer, Miró, and Picasso. After achieving a dream of moving to Greece, his work evolved as a personal response to Byzantine mosaics, El Greco, and the art of Greek life. This book

This is the first full-scale monograph on John Craxton (1922-2009), a key figure in post-war painting who authorised this publication shortly before his death. Ian Collins’s engaging text is informed by his many conversations with the artist, who was also a celebrated wit and story-teller, and is supported by more than 200 reproductions of life-affirming paintings and drawings. The monograph has an introduction by Sir David Attenborough, who was a friend of John Craxton and spoke at his memorial service. Sir David also presented a

The catalogue to accompany an exhibition first held in Cyprus at the A G Leventis Gallery in 2017 which then moved to the Benaki Museum in Athens. The exhibition ran at the British Museum from March to July 2018. The book is still available for 30 euros plus postage from the AG Leventis Gallery in Cyprus. Please email info@leventisgallery.org for an up to date quote and payment details.

Elusive, enigmatic and beautiful, Joan Leigh Fermor (1912-2003) was a close friend of John Craxton and also one of the finest photographers of her time.  The book is linked to a major exhibition of Joan Leigh Fermor’s photographs which can be seen at the Benaki Museum in Athens until 21 October 2018.