Sickert: The Theatre of Life explores the human side of Walter Sickert's art. Among the sources of inspiration which sustained him over a long career, none won him so much acclaim and infamy as the human face and body.   After a short period as an actor, he spent his life fashioning new identities for himself and his sitters. This fully-illustrated book provides an overview of Sickert's figurative work, from theatre subjects in the 1880s, through Camden Town period nudes, concluding with visionary late works including photo-based paintings and his controversial 'English Echoes'.   The publication features essays by leading specialists on Sickert's work. Richard Shone has written an introduction and catalogue entries which provide new information about the artist's friends and sitters. Wendy Baron has contributed a memoir about her 'life with Sickert' and a scholarly article about a newly-discovered painting by the artist. Also included are first-hand accounts of Sickert written by Basil Jonzen and Duncan Grant.

Richard Shone is a leading specialist in early twentieth-century British art. He is the author of monographs on Sickert (1988) and the British-born Impressionist Alfred Sisley (1992) and the first book on the Bloomsbury painters (1976). He has curated exhibitions about Duncan Grant, portraits by Sickert (Bath, 1990) and the art of Bloomsbury (Tate, 1999). In 1992, he co-curated Sickert Paintings at the Royal Academy of Arts with Wendy Baron. He has written extensively on several of the Young British Artists and contributed to the exhibition catalogue of Sensation (1997). He was a regular contributor to The Burlington Magazine from the 1970s onwards and was its editor between 2003 and 2015.