Francis Bacon and Michael Peppiatt were close friends for over thirty years. As Peppiatt, the editor of this volume, tells us in his illuminating Introduction, the two would regularly embark on night-time “odysseys around London and Paris”, “ordering extravagant vintages, raising toasts to all and sundry, talking and laughing immoderately.”

Francis Bacon’s conversation was witty, provocative, and profound. In this volume, his long-time friend, curator, chronicler, and biographer has gathered Bacon’s most memorable aphorisms, evoking both the force of the artist’s personality and the range of his interests.

These sayings, assembled for the first time in Only Too Much Is Enough, form a brilliant accompaniment to Bacon’s works, conveying not only a sceptical and sometimes disquieting outlook on human relationships, but also keen insights into his creative process.