Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Acclaimed on first publication, Harriet Vyner's Groovy Bob is the cult biography of hedonistic gallery owner Robert Fraser and a dazzling evocation of 1960s culture and counter-culture. Taste-maker, heroin addict and promiscuous homosexual, Fraser astonished London with the artists he introduced: Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Claes Oldenburg, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Told through the voices of those who knew him best--Paul McCartney, Richard Hamilton, Mick Jagger, Bridget Riley, Keith Richards, Kenneth Anger, Malcolm McLaren and Vyner herself--Groovy Bob is a brilliant biography and a searing portrait of the most exhilarating period in post-war British social history. This edition features a new afterword by the author and colour plates including works from the major exhibition A Strong Sweet Smell of Incense: A Portrait of Robert Fraser, curated by Vyner and Brian Clarke at Pace London, 2015.
Synopsis
Robert Fraser owned a gallery in London at the height of the Swingin' Sixties, and--as no less than Paul McCartney has said--he all but personified the period for his vast network of friends, fans, and hangers-on. This book tells Fraser's story through the voices of those friends, including McCartney, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Kenneth Anger, Malcolm McLaren, Bridget Riley, and many more. An unprecedented close-up of the man who introduced the world to Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Claes Oldenburg, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michael Basquiat, Groovy Bob brings the '60's London art scene, its wild parties and creative fervor, unforgettably to life.