Francis Bacon - Etude pour un portrait de John Edwards

Original Lithograph in colours,1986, on Arches paper, with full margins, signed by the artist in pencil

Edition: 150. There were also 30 Hors Commerce proofs with Roman Numbering and 5 EA (Artists proofs)

Literature:  

Francis Bacon: Estampes - collection Alexandre Tacou Number 20

Bruno Sabatier, Francis Bacon: The Graphic Work, no. 20.

Size: sheet: 32 h × 23.5 w in (81 × 60 cm) ; image: 23.75 h × 17.75 w in (60 × 45 cm)

Published by: Galerie Lelong, Paris and Yves Peyre, Paris for the literary review L'Ire des Vents, Paris.

Note: This was made after the right panel of the triptych “Three studies for a portrait off John Edwards, 1984”

John Edwards was Francis Bacon's closest friend for 18 years, and inherited the artist's £11 million estate. There were those who considered it a curious friendship. Although both men were homosexuals, Edwards maintained that they were never lovers. Furthermore, Edwards had never learned to read or write, and knew nothing of art or books. None of this, however, appeared to matter to Bacon. "I think he felt very free with me, because I was a bit different from most people he knew," Edwards once said. "I wasn't asking him about his painting or anything like that . . . I asked him once, 'what do you see in me?' And he laughed and said, 'You're not boring like most people'."

Provenance: Private Collection Michigan, USA

Condition: In good condition.