Francis Bacon

(British, 1909–1992)

Francis Bacon was an Irish artist and one of the most unique, engaging figurative painters to emerge during the post-war period. His grotesque imagery—contorted limbs, howling mouths agape, blood—served as method of exploring nihilism and death at a time when Europe had been repeatedly 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 arresting Study After Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X (1953). In this iconic work, Bacon transforms 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 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.

Francis Bacon News

Auctions

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Here Are the 10 Most Expensive Lots Sold at Auction in May 2024
On View

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Law & Politics

Beleaguered Billionaire Ronald Perelman Recently Sold $963 Million Worth of Art: Docs

by Eileen Kinsella
Beleaguered Billionaire Ronald Perelman Recently Sold $963 Million Worth of Art: Docs

Francis Bacon Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Francis Bacon (3,557 results)
Centre panel from Triptych March, 1974, 1978

Francis Bacon

Centre panel from Triptych March, 1974, 1978

Sale Date: December 3, 2023

Auction Closed

Central plate, from Deuxième version du..., 1988

Francis Bacon

Central plate, from Deuxième version du..., 1988

Sale Date: November 28, 2023

Auction Closed

Seated Figure (after, Study for a Portrait..., 1983

Francis Bacon

Seated Figure (after, Study for a Portrait..., 1983

Sale Date: January 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Study for Head of Lucian Freud, 2015

After Francis Bacon

Study for Head of Lucian Freud, 2015

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Triptych 1974-1977, 1981

Francis Bacon

Triptych 1974-1977, 1981

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Triptych (Left panel), 1981

Francis Bacon

Triptych (Left panel), 1981

Sale Date: December 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Chateau Mouton Rothschild, 1990

Francis Bacon

Chateau Mouton Rothschild, 1990

Sale Date: December 13, 2023

Auction Closed

In Memory of George Dyer (Small), 2016

After Francis Bacon

In Memory of George Dyer (Small), 2016

Sale Date: December 12, 2023

Auction Closed

PORTRAIT OF GEORGE DYER RIDING A BICYCLE..., 2015

After Francis Bacon

PORTRAIT OF GEORGE DYER RIDING A BICYCLE..., 2015

Sale Date: December 20, 2023

Auction Closed

D'après Study for the Human Body, 1981

After Francis Bacon

D'après Study for the Human Body, 1981

Sale Date: December 5, 2023

Auction Closed

Trois études pour un autoportrait, 1981

Francis Bacon

Trois études pour un autoportrait, 1981

Sale Date: December 5, 2023

Auction Closed

Étude pour un portrait de John Edwards, 1987

Francis Bacon

Étude pour un portrait de John Edwards, 1987

Sale Date: November 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Triptych 1974-1977, 1981

Francis Bacon

Triptych 1974-1977, 1981

Sale Date: November 28, 2023

Auction Closed

L'Homme au lavabo (Figure at a Washbasin),..., 1977

Francis Bacon

L'Homme au lavabo (Figure at a Washbasin),..., 1977

Sale Date: November 28, 2023

Auction Closed

Miroir de la Tauromachie, 1990

Francis Bacon

Miroir de la Tauromachie, 1990

Sale Date: November 28, 2023

Auction Closed

L'Oreste d'Eschyle, 1981

Francis Bacon

L'Oreste d'Eschyle, 1981

Sale Date: November 28, 2023

Auction Closed

Figure At A Washbasin, 1978

Francis Bacon

Figure At A Washbasin, 1978

Sale Date: November 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Hugh Lane Gallery Poster, 2000, 2000

After Francis Bacon

Hugh Lane Gallery Poster, 2000, 2000

Sale Date: November 15, 2023

Auction Closed

Deuxième version du triptyque 1944 (Second..., 1944

Francis Bacon

Deuxième version du triptyque 1944 (Second..., 1944

Sale Date: December 2, 2023

Auction Closed

Portrait de Michel Leiris, 1977–1978

Francis Bacon

Portrait de Michel Leiris, 1977–1978

Sale Date: November 29, 2023

Auction Closed

PERSONNAGE COUCHE, 1966, 1966

After Francis Bacon

PERSONNAGE COUCHE, 1966, 1966

Sale Date: November 23, 2023

Auction Closed

Study for Head of Lucian Freud, 2015

After Francis Bacon

Study for Head of Lucian Freud, 2015

Sale Date: November 8, 2023

Auction Closed

Figure in Movement, 1976

Francis Bacon

Figure in Movement, 1976

Sale Date: November 9, 2023

Auction Closed

Second Version of Painting 1946, 1946

Francis Bacon

Second Version of Painting 1946, 1946

Sale Date: October 29, 2023

Auction Closed

English (US)

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