This singular British figurative painter belonged to no particular art movement or group. During an era of abstract painters, Bacon steadfastly held to his unique representational portraits of the human condition in an existential, sometimes grotesque fashion. Although UK prime minister once referred to him as “that man who paints those dreadful pictures,” his work can be found in the major museums of London, New York and Paris as he is one of the worlds most famous artists.
During his lifetime, he was called “surely the greatest living painter by the director of the preeminent Tate Museum, Alan Bowness. In 2008, Bacon’s “Triptych, 1976″ sold for 86.2 million at a Sotheby’s auction, which placed him in league with Van Gogh, Picasso and Jackson Pollock for the highest prices paid for a single painting. Born to wealthy parents in Ireland, Bacon lived in Berlin and Paris, before settling into the South Kensington neighborhood of London where he kept a famously tiny (258 square feet), unkempt studio. His disturbing, violent imagery captured both the vulnerability and decadence of the post-war world.