Francis Bacon
© Peter Stark
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Francis Bacon
by Peter Stark
cibachrome print, 1975
9 1/2 in. x 6 5/8 in. (242 mm x 167 mm)
Given by Peter Stark, 1977
Photographs Collection
NPG x1530
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. Bacon painted in the mornings, heading to Soho at noon.
Placesback to top
- Place made and portrayed: United Kingdom: England, London (sitter's studio, 7 Reece Mews, South Kensington, London)
Events of 1975back to top
Current affairs
Britain votes to remain part of the European Economic Community. In the Labour government's referendum, 67% of voters answered 'yes' to the question 'Do you think the UK should stay in the European Community (Common Market)?'Art and science
The rock band Queen release their epic single Bohemian Rhapsody which reaches Number 1 in the pop charts and stays there for nine weeks. It is the only single to have been a Christmas Number 1 twice, due to its re-release in 1991 following Freddie Mercury's death, and the promotional video is often regarded as the first real music video.International
The communist organisation, Khymer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, takes over Cambodia renaming it Democratic Kampuchea. Khymer Rouge began its policy of forcible relocating the urban population to the countryside and brutally purging those sectors of society considered by Pol Pot to be a potential threat to the revolution: Buddhist monks, people with education, disabled people, and ethnic minorities.Tell us more back to top
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