Francis Bacon - Triptych 1983 (Right panel)

Original Lithograph in colours,1983, on Arches watermarked paper, with full margins, signed by the artist in pencil

Edition: 180 - There were also some HC and artists proofs made

Published by: Galerie Lelong, Paris

Literature:  

Francis Bacon: Estampes - collection Alexandre Tacou Number 18

Bruno Sabatier, Francis Bacon: The Graphic Work, no. 17.

Size: Image: 679 x 500 mms Paper: 860 x 605 mms

Note: The prototype for this was a Diptych in Oil, pastel and dry transfer lettering, on canvas made in 1982. The work is now in Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Since his death Bacon’s reputation and market value have grown steadily, and his work is among the most acclaimed, expensive and sought-after.

This work was sold in the same Christies Auction as another from the series “The Left Hand panel” which was dedicated to John Edwards. The Central Panel seems now to be missing. Both left and right panels were catalogued as coming from the John Edwards collection and are the same edition number. 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'."

Condition: The full sheet, pale time staining, occasional minor abrasions in the margins, otherwise in good condition, framed

Provenance:

John Edwards (1949 - 2003) - see biographical note above

Private Collection, London

21/3/2019 Christies, London - Lot 50

Spanish Art Dealer