Francis Bacon: Shadows continues in the revelatory mode established by Inside Francis Bacon. It comprises six essays on diverse topics, interpretative as well as factual, which cumulatively present an abundance of fresh ideas and information about Bacon. The fundamental aim of the series – to rethink Bacon’s art from new perspectives – is impressively fulfilled by the eminent authors. Martin Harrison opens the book with some hitherto unseen Bacon-related photographs and includes a tribute to the great Bacon scholar, David Boxer (1946–2017). Christopher Bucklow turns his attention to the contrast between Bacon's art and the art of our own times, setting Bacon in the context of Romantic Modernism's confidence in the unconscious as a source. Amanda Harrison’s essay explores imagery in Bacon’s paintings that relates to esoteric, mythological and alchemical themes, while Stefan Haus draws on the ideas of philosophers from Plato to Hegel to consider the impact of Bacon’s art. Hugh Davies’s unexpurgated 1973 Bacon Diaries are published here in their entirety for the first time, revealing a more complete view of Bacon as both man and artist. Sophie Pretorius examines Tate's Barry Joule Archive, a collection of working materials and drawings attributed to Bacon. Finally, Martin Harrison explores Francis Bacon's Lost Paintings – works Bacon dubbed 'failures', but preserved by his Estate and published here for the very first time. With 120 illustrations in colour

The third and final instalment in the Bacon Estate's groundbreaking series discloses and analyses the most exciting new research and information to emerge in many years on this elusive artist. Three of the essays, by Francesca Pipe, Sophie Pretorius and Martin Harrison, are based on archives recently added to the collection of the Estate of Francis Bacon. Very little is known about Bacon's early career, and the diaries of his two first patrons provide a far deeper understanding of his formative years than has been accessible hitherto. Especially revelatory are the extensive records kept over a long period by Bacon's doctor, Paul Brass: what they reveal will revolutionise thinking on Bacon. Sarah Whitfield sheds new light on both Bonnard and Bacon; she has identified concerns the two artists shared that will surprise as well as enlighten. Joyce Townsend draws on her scientific and technical investigations into Tate's most important Bacon paintings to advance significant new information about Bacon's methods. Christopher Bucklow is an expert on Japanese art, which forms an important, if unexpected, aspect of his rethinking of the metaphor system in Bacon's paintings.