Francis Bacon

Sitterback to top

• Francis Bacon (1909-1992), Painter. Sitter associated with 32 portraits.

Artistback to top

• Peter Stark (1943-). Artist of 13 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Bacon's cleaner was forbidden to touch his studio at 7 Reece Mews, South Kensington, where he lived and worked for thirty years. He said of it, 'I feel at home here in this chaos because chaos suggests images to me'. The fragments of photographs, newspapers, books and catalogues that littered the floor were Bacon's source material. When Bacon died, one hundred of Peter Stark's prints were found in his studio, which he had used to create three self-portraits. The contents of the studio were removed to the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, where the room has been painstakingly recreated. This contemplative portrait of the artist in isolation was taken on the same day Stark photographed Bacon enjoying a convivial lunch at Wheeler's restaurant (also displayed here). Bacon painted in the mornings, heading to Soho at noon.

Subject/Themeback to top

• Artists and their studios