An investigation by Martin Harrison into the painter Francis Bacon's use of photography to inspire and influence his work. Francis Bacon famously found inspiration in photographs, film stills, and mass-media imagery. Through much original research and unparalleled access, Harrison reveals how these new media informed some of Bacon's most important paintings and triggered turning points in his stylistic development, providing a new under-standing of the thought processes and working methods of the creator of one of the most compelling bodies of work in twentieth-century art.