Jon Lys Turner

In the media

Press Clippings
Jon Lys Turner On BBC
Jon Lys Turner on Fake or Fortune

“Delicious anecdotes abound in this highly entertaining celebration of two minor artists who knew everyone. An absolute goldmine for Bacon biographers … it is full of memorable vignettes and many moving letters from Chopping to Wirth-Miller and vice versa … haunting biography.” Lynn Barber, Sunday Times

“A guide to 20th century British painting and promiscuity….. Perceptive … an excellent social history of gay life in the 20th century … a lively commentary on modern British art and culture …. Entertaining yarns” Andrew Lycett, The Spectator

“This lively, gossipy, indiscreet book brings the couple vividly to life, showing us their loving and destructive relationship in all its complexity. It sheds light on Bacon’s professional and private life, and is essential reading for Bacon fans and scholars.” Art Newspaper

“This handsome book is a stimulating and absorbing description of intertwined bohemian and artists’ lives but also an important slice of social and cultural history from original sources. It not only describes the ferment of post-war Britain and the collapsing norms of class and convention, but also an example for all of us of a few brave souls doggedly pursuing their artistic vocations and world views against all the odds.” Eamon Delaney, Independent.ie

“A compelling account of Fifties artistic bohemia from the fringes.” Sebastian Shakespeare, Tatler

“Sex, squalor and false teeth: life with Dicky and Denis. This panoramic portrait … is immensely entertaining … the disputed works in the plate section are the best Bacons I have seen.” Roger Lewis, The Times

“Boozing and Mischief … a moving study of hero worship … as entertaining as it is poignant.” Michael Peppiatt, The Guardian

“Jon Lys Turner’s marvellous book …. tells his outrageous tales in a deadpan manner and has a knack for the concise character sketch . . . an alternative cultural history of the British scene.” James Norton, Burlington Magazine

The Visitors’ Book … provides a fascinating picture of a period in British art, the 1940s and 1950s, that has been neglected in recent years. The bohemian capers and tragedies have sometimes been written about, but too much of the art has been overlooked. It wasn’t all just Bacon and Freud.” Jim Burns: Penniless Press

The Visitors’ Book is an excellent insight into Bacon’s character and social milieu.” The British Art Journal

“An excellent read … an essential reference for Bacon researchers …. The Visitors’ Bookis a fascinating and informative study of two unjustly overlooked figures in the British post-war art Scene.”  Alexander Adams, Jackdaw

“Here is a photograph of artists Denis Wirth-Miller and Richard Chopping … in a biscuit tin is their collection of more than 200 guardsmen’s jacket buttons, each one a souvenir of a sexual liaison with the soldiers stationed near their home. Well I never.” Adrian Searle… Queer British Art, Tate, The Guardian

 “A worthy memorial to this troubled pair.” Book of the Week, The Week