"Arturo Di Stefano is an anomaly in the modern art world: a figurative painter when the prevailing orthodoxy favours neo-conceptualism and other non-figurative movements. His work - drawing on literary sources as diverse as The Odyssey and The Waste Land - engages in a dialogue with the past while remaining contemporary in its methods and achievements. From mythological subjects to unpeopled London cityscapes, the world he presents through his art is one of unusually haunting power, perhaps demonstrated to best effect in his penetratingly intense portraits of friends, family members and literary and artistic heroes." "This, the first monograph on one of the most unusual and compelling artists working in London today, offers highly personal responses to his work from three outstanding contributors: critic, novelist and painter John Berger, poet and critic Michael Hofmann and Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures Christopher Lloyd. Along with previously unpublished works and a statement from the artist, Arturo Di Stefano displays the full range of his utterly original creative spirit."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved