The Man Who Couldn't Stop Drawing: The Extraordinary Life of Percy Kelly (Studio Publications) Book

Kelly was born 1918 to a large family on the industrial coast of Cumberland. He could draw as soon as he could hold a pencil. His genius was noticed at every stage of his life. He was a compulsive drawer. He talked art with Churchill, met the king, dined with royalty yet died in rural Norfolk alone and pitifully poor as Roberta Penelope He was sought after by many leading galleries but he refused them. He was retentive about his work. He died intestate and unknown in 1993 in a derelict cottage stuffed with his work.The book tells his life's journey in stury form - his flight to Wales and then Norfolk - the women who tried to help him - his transvestism and what happened after his death. The author saved his large body of work from the bonfire, catalogued it and every exhibition since has been a sell-out. The book is illustrated with his irresistible paintings and drawings referred to by art critic Andrew Lambirth as Earthbound Magic.Read More