The product of extensive interviews with the artist, this new publication provides the definitive view of the work of Jock McFadyen RA. Rowan Moore creates a fascinating portrait of the artist, weaving together stories from McFadyen’s life - from being thrown out of art school as a young man for burning an effigy of the Principal, to a residency at the National Gallery and a solo show at the Royal Academy of Arts in 2018. McFadyen’s story begins in 1950s Scotland, and continues via squats in Chelsea during the Punk era, to the East End of London, now the subject of many of his large-scale paintings. Illustrated with a brilliant selection of McFadyen’s works - including Tate Moss, a painting derived from an illicit kayak trip with writer Iain Sinclair - this publication explores the world of a celebrated contemporary painter, who nevertheless believes that painting is no more cerebral a task than fixing a motorbike… AUTHOR: Rowan Moore is architecture critic at the Observer, and was named Critic of the Year at the UK Press Awards in 2014. His books include Slow Burn City: London in the Twenty-first Century (2017) and Why We Build (2013). SELLING POINTS: . A behind-the-scenes glimpse into the life, methods and work of contemporary painter Jock McFadyen RA by architecture critic Rowan Moore, accompanied by 130 beautiful reproductions of the painter’s work . Accompanies an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts 130 colour images