Francis BACON
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Study for Self Portrait ©1982 Francis Bacon |
Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1901 this prominent British painter and printmaker created probably the most controversial contemporary art until his death in 1992. Despite his absence of formal training, in 1945 he gained instantaneous recognition after an exhibition at Lefevre Gallery in London that included his Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion. Bacon's figures can be described as distorted, fleshy masses in anguish. These shocking and unsettling images are his representation of the evils and the devastation of the human condition.
Bacon's prints are based on a selection of his 35 paintings dating from 1965-1991. The visual paradox signature of his oils that both repels and intrigues remains consistent with his print work. Bacon worked with skilled printers to create his relatively small body of etchings and lithographs that totaled only about 40 editions.
Bacon's works are part of public collections the world over including Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo, Norway; Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery, Birmingham, England; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas Sofía Imbert, Caracas, Venezuela; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain; Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas; Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy; Sammlung Essl, Klosterneuburg, Austria; Sprengel Museum Hannover, Hannover, Germany; Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Gent, Belgium; Tate Britain, London, England; and the Tate Modern, London, England.
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