Bacons Study for Portrait II sold in London
Published February 9th, 2007
The Study for Portrait II, painted in 1956, was sold to an anonymous bidder at Christie’s on Thursday evening.
The portrait, one of more than 50 of Catholic church leaders created by Bacon, had been expected to fetch £12m.
The previous record for a Bacon painting was $15m (£7.8m), set by Version No 2 of Lying Figure with Hypodermic Syringe in New York in 2006.
Study for Portrait II is said to show a sympathetic side to the Pope as a tragic hero overwhelmed by external forces.
“It is the most important work from Bacon’s Pope series to appear on the market,” said Pilar Ordovas, the director of contemporary art at Christie’s.
She added that “it established Bacon’s position as one of the leading artistic figures of the 20th century.”
Bacon was born in Ireland to English parents but he left Ireland when he was a teenager. He died in Spain in 1992.
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