James Lord (author)

James Lord (November 27, 1922 – August 23, 2009) was an American writer. He was the author of several books, including critically acclaimed biographies of Alberto Giacometti and Pablo Picasso.^[1][2] He appeared in the documentary films Balthus Through the Looking Glass (1996) and Picasso: Magic, Sex, Death (2001).

James Lord
Born	(1922-11-27)November 27, 1922 Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	August 23, 2009(2009-08-23) (aged 86) Paris, France
Occupation(s)	Writer, essayist
Partner	Gilles Roy-Lord

Life and career

Lord was born in Englewood, New Jersey, and grew up there, the son of Louise and Albert Lord.^[1] His father was a stockbroker, and until the Wall Street crash the family lived, as Lord put it, in "the lower echelons of the upper classes".^[2] He graduated from Englewood School for Boys (now Dwight-Englewood School) in 1940.^[3]

Lord attended Wesleyan University, though he never earned a degree. He served in the United States Army during World War II and was part of the Ritchie Boys who specialized in Military Intelligence. He wrote about his experiences in his book, My Queer War which discusses keeping his homosexuality carefully hidden.^[4][5]

Lord died of a heart attack in Paris, at the age of 86.^[2]

In popular culture

The 2017 movie Final Portrait retells the story of his friendship with the painter Alberto Giacometti. Lord is played by Armie Hammer.

Selected bibliography

Biographies and novels

• No Traveler Returns. John Day Company. 1956. ASIN B002DGC9J4.
• The Joys of Success. John Day Company. 1958. ASIN B0007E5806.
• A Giacometti Portrait. Forgotten books. 1965. ISBN 978-1528340182.
• Giacometti: A Biography. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1985. ISBN 978-0374525255.
• Picasso and Dora: A Personal Memoir. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 1993. ISBN 978-0297813835.
• Six Exceptional Women. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1994. ISBN 978-0374528362.
• Making Memoirs. Elysium Press. 1995. ISBN 978-0964039940.
• Some Remarkable Men. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1996. ISBN 978-0374266554.
• A Gift for Admiration. Further Memoirs. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1998. ISBN 978-0374281922.
• Stories of Youth. Elysium Press. 2001.
• My Queer War. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2010. ISBN 978-0374532758.

Essays

• "Regard vers l'invisible". Derrière le miroir. No. 226. Paris: Maeght. December 1977. ISBN 2-85587-038-0.