<DIV><DIV><DIV><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 3pt">Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre counted among his friends and associates some of the most esteemed intellectuals, writers, and artists of the twentieth century. In <I>Portraits</I> (<I>Situations IV</I>), Sartre collected his impressions and accounts of many of his notable acquaintances, in addition to some of his most important writings on art and literature during the early 1950s.</P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 3pt">&nbsp;</P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 3pt"><I>Portraits</I> includes Sartre&#8217;s preface to Nathalie Sarraute&#8217;s <I>Portrait of a Man Unknown</I> and his homages to Andr&#233; Gide, Albert Camus, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. The essay on Merleau-Ponty casts considerable light on the recent history of French philosophy, particularly with regard to dominant post-war political conceptions. Featured as well are lengthy studies of Sartre&#8217;s close friend Paul Nizan and of the young Andr&#233; Gorz that are no less revealing, as well as Sartre&#8217;s &#8220;Reply to Albert Camus,&#8221; which sealed the ideological and personal break between the two writers on its publication in 1952. Alongside these major writings are fascinating articles on Tintoretto and a number of contemporary artists, including Giacometti and Masson. Finally, <I>Portraits </I>concludes with two travelogue-style accounts of Sartre&#8217;s time in Italy.</P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 3pt">&nbsp;</P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 3pt">This new translation by Chris Turner presents these essays in their complete form as originally intended by Sartre when he first published <I>Situations IV</I> in France and is thus essential reading for anyone interested in the artistic and intellectual history of the time.</P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">&nbsp;</P></DIV>