In The Lure of the Biographical, Sandra Kisters focuses on the
relationship between an artwork and the personal image of an artist.
An artist's biography can be a potent source of inspiration and
mythology, and this book explores how artists use their biographical
image in order to make a name for themselves, and how other
parties--such as critics, art historians and art dealers--make
connections between personal lives and bodies of work, and for what
purpose.
Through detailed case studies of the biographies and oeuvres of Auguste
Rodin, Georgia O'Keeffe and Francis Bacon, The Lure of the
Biographical explores what mechanisms and strategies are at play in
creating an artist's image, and, in addition, proposes a model for
research into questions of artistic self-representation.