In 1965 at the height of a successful career as an abstract painter, Avigdor Arikha suddenly stopped painting to return to drawing from life. When he returned to painting in 1973 it was to begin a series of intensely observed portraits, nudes and still lifes for which he is now known worldwide. This book, partly based on discussions with the artist over a long period, surveys Arikha's entire career and shows his work from the drawings he made as a child in a Nazi concentration camp to the carefully observed and composed paintings of the 1990s. This book is the winner of the 1995 Scottish Arts Council Spring Book Award.

Author Biography

Duncan Thomson is Keeper of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.