Francis Bacon British Oil on Tempera ’85 – Feb 13, 2020
Oil and tempera on paper, unframed. Featuring portrait of a man. Signed Francis Bacon in bottom left. Inscribed with “85” on verso. Stamped “Lewis Spencer London” on verso. Attributed to Francis Bacon (1909-1992, British). 27 x 19.5 cm (10.75 x 7.75 in). PROVENANCE: This item has limited provenance from a Southern Ontario estate
Click Here to view Lot # 149 – Francis Bacon British Oil on Tempera ’85 – Feb 13, 2020
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon (1909-1992) was an Irish artist known as one of the most unique, engaging figurative painters during the post-war period. His grotesque imagery served as method of exploring nihilism and death at a time when Europe had been savaged by war.
Inspired by both the Old Masters and Surrealism, Bacon produced several compositions based on the work of other painters. Notably including his Study After Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X (1953). Bacon transformed Diego Velazquez’s classic portrait into a screaming, terrifying figure. “I feel ever so strongly that an artist must be nourished by his passions and his despairs,” he once said. “The feelings of desperation and unhappiness are more useful to an artist than the feeling of contentment, because desperation and unhappiness stretch your whole sensibility.”
Born on October 28, 1909 in Dublin, Ireland, the self-taught artist moved to London to escape a hostile home life. Bacon then, became part of the local art scene in the British capital, which included his friends Lucian Freud, Isabel Lambert, and John Deakin. After the death of Bacon’s lover in 1972, his work became even more personalized, with a renewed focus on mortality.
In 1963, a retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York brought international prestige, which continued until his death on April 28, 1992 in Madrid, Spain. Today, his works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hugh Lane in Dublin, and the Albertina in Vienna, among others.
Auction Overview
Richmond Hill, ON – 401 fresh to market items will be available to the discerning buyers and collectors in 888 Auctions’ February 13th auction featuring the finest in ESTATE PAINTINGS, POP ART & CERTIFIED GEMS 2020-02-13. Taking place in the afternoon at 2 PM (EST), bidders will be competing against one another over a variety of items on display.
Visit the auction at 888 Auctions during the public viewing period:
Monday, February 10th: 10AM-5PM
Tuesday, February 11th: 10AM-5PM
Wednesday, February 12th: 10AM-5PM
Thursday, February 13th: 10:30AM-1PM
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