Biography
Born in Dublin in 1909 to a family of British descent, with vague aristocratic connections, Francis Bacon’s early years were marked by sporadic moves between England and Ireland, and a difficult relationship with his father. Settling in London in 1929, he found work as an interior designer and, tentatively, began to paint. His first major break came in 1944 with Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, a triptych of writhing biomorphs, while Painting (1946), which was bought by Alfred Barr for New York’s Museum of Modern Art, earned him financial success. He continued to paint similarly religious subjects throughout the 1950s before turning to portraiture in the 1960s, when he was closely associated with Soho drinking circles. The crown of his career, a 1971 retrospective at Paris’ Grand Palais, was coupled with tragedy, his lover George Dyer committing suicide on the eve of the exhibition. His later work was shadowed by the loss, which affected him deeply. He eventually died from cardiac arrest in 1992.
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