John Bratby first won notoriety while still at the Royal College of Art by painting the college's dustbins rather than traditional academic subjects. Since then he has continued to produce a succession of paintings, most of which, even those without the human figure, could be described as portraits. This book offers a selection from the best of his work in the field of portraiture over the years. Some 30 major paintings and a substantial number of his drawings, many of which have seldom been exhibited, are illustrated in full colour and accompanied by biographical and bibliographical information. The book is published to coincide with a retrospective at the National Portrait Gallery.