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Francis Bacon

11 of 32 portraits of Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon, by Cecil Beaton, 1951 - NPG - © Cecil Beaton Studio Archive, Sotheby's London

© Cecil Beaton Studio Archive, Sotheby's London

Francis Bacon

by Cecil Beaton
bromide print, 1951
8 in. x 7 3/4 in. (204 mm x 196 mm)
Accepted in lieu of tax by H.M. Government and allocated to the Gallery, 1991
Photographs Collection
NPG x40008


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Sitterback to top

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

Artistback to top

  • Cecil Beaton (1904-1980), Photographer, designer and writer. Artist associated with 1051 portraits, Sitter associated with 314 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Bacon had first attracted the public's notice in 1945 when his Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion was shown at the Lefevre Gallery in London. Beaton became friendly with Bacon and the group of artists who frequented the bars and restaurants of Soho during the 1950s, including Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach. After Freud's wedding reception in 1953, Beaton described in his diary how Bacon's body became 'like butter when he is drunk, but his mind more electric and alert'.