Self Portrait, 1972
Following their dedicated exhibition Francis Bacon: Human Presence which ended in January this year, The National Portrait Gallery in London has added two of Francis Bacon's paintings to their permanent exhibition for the first time.
The first work is Self-Portrait (1972). This was one of several pieces that Bacon delivered to Marlborough Fine Art and then asked for it to be returned to make adjustments to it, altering the facial expression from abjection to wistful pensiveness.
This habit of Bacon’s to change his paintings after release is covered in detail in our book Revisions: Francis Bacon in the Act of Painting, if you are interested in exploring this topic.
Three Studies for Portrait of Lucian Freud, 1964
The second piece is the iconic triptych Three Studies for Portrait of Lucian Freud (1964). This was Bacon’s first triptych of Freud and followed similar small triptychs of Henrietta Moraes and George Dyer which were created the previous year.
Martin Harrison tells us in the Catalogue Raisonné that ‘Bacon deployed the gesture of the hand raised to the face in the centre panel in several other portraits of Freud.The gesture was a point of contention between the two artists, Freud asserting that it was associated with Bacon, who in turn disputed this.’
The National Portrait Gallery also has an incredible gilt bronze mask of Bacon’s face by sculptor Clive Barker on display. This can be found in Room 32 on Floor 1. The gallery also has a wide range of photographic portraits of the artist which are not on display, but can be viewed on their website.
