This complete biographical look at John Bratby, an English painter who founded the "kitchen sink" style of art that was influential and popularized in the 1950s, reveals an eccentric artist who battled addictions and insecurity. Touching on the shameless publicity employed to make himself Britain's first modern celebrity artist, this is the first study to mine the Bratby Archive, which includes his selections from his intimate diaries. In addition to close readings of his art, this work examines his writings and his fiction, from his bestseller Breakdown to his unpublished novels and pornographic short stories.