Drawing Blood

This is a truly exceptional collection of drawings from one of our most revered cultural commentators. Gerald Scarfe began his career in the 60s working for PUNCH and PRIVATE EYE before taking a job as a political cartoonist for the DAILY MAIL. He then worked for TIME Magazine in New York before starting his long association with the SUNDAY TIMES that still exists today in the form of his weekly drawings. His varied career has seen him work with Pink Floyd (The Wall, Wish You Were Here), Roger Waters and Eric Clapton (The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking), Disney (Hercules), English National Ballet (The Nutcracker), Los Angeles Opera (Fantastic Mr Fox) as well as produce such iconic images as those for the titles of Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister. His work has featured in the New Yorker and various BBC TV films such as Scarfe on Sex and Scarfe on Class. Exhibitions of his paintings and drawings have appeared in the Tate Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. He is viewed by many as both a national treasure and a genius and this is the first collection of his work to appear for 20 years.

Arranged by year, this is impresively completist... He also proves again and again that he should be regarded as one of the foremost commentators on the misery of our special friendship with America. Indispensible.--THE LIST, Hugely entertaining--SUNDAY TIMES Books of the Year, What gives this book an unexpected human warmth and candour in the disarmingly direct commentary by the artist about his public life and intimate thoughts. In words, as in his imagery, he freely exposes his most vulnerable, private parts, while at the same time readily baring his slavering fangs in the face of social injustice, fat-cat folly and political hypocrisy.--METRO LONDON

Gerald Scarfe began his career in the sixties working for Punch and Private Eye before taking a job as a political cartoonist for the Daily Mail. He then worked for Time magazine in New York before starting his fifty-year-long association with the Sunday Times. He drew weekly for the Evening Standard. His varied career has seen him work with Pink Floyd (The Wall, Wish You Were Here), Roger Waters and Eric Clapton (The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking), as a production designer for Disney (Hercules), costume and set designer for English National Ballet (The Nutcracker) and Los Angeles Opera (Fantastic Mr Fox) as well as produce such iconic images as those for the titles of Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. His work has featured in the New Yorker and various BBC TV films such as Scarfe on Sex and Scarfe on Class. Exhibitions of his paintings and drawings have appeared in the Tate Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, as well as galleries in Australia, USA, Germany and Czech Republic. He is viewed by many as both a national treasure and a genius.