For nearly half a century, Roy Strong has been a prominent presence in Britain‰Ûªs art world. Yet little is known about his life before the Swinging Sixties, when, at the age of thirty-one, he came on the scene as the revolutionary young director of London‰Ûªs National Portrait Gallery.In this book, Strong recounts his early years and the stirrings of what would become a lifelong passion for art. During a childhood spent in suburban North London, Strong recalls himself as a shy and solitary boy who spent his time painting Elizabethan miniatures and Shakespearean set designs. The book follows his progression through grammar school, which he attended alongside Alan Bennett and David Hockney, and university, where he developed a love of learning and enjoyed visits to the theater, opera, and ballet. With remarkable honesty, he explores the important relationships in his life‰ÛÓfamily, friends, and a schoolteacher with whom he maintained a long correspondence‰ÛÓas well as his debt to figures like Cecil Beaton, Frances Yates, C. V. Wedgwood, and A. L. Rowse.Richly illustrated throughout with photographs, drawings, and letters, this book offers a compelling look at a young man poised for success.
Dimensions: 159 x 210
Author: Roy C. Strong
ISBN: 9781851242825
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 288