Francis Bacon’s triptych sold for £24.3 million at auction
Francis Bacon’s triptych depicting a close friend of his sold for £24.3m – the highest value work sold at auction at Frieze season in the last 10 years.
The paintings, titled Three Studies for a Portrait of Henrietta Moraes, come from the collection of American media executive William S. Paley, who acquired the work from the Marlborough Gallery months after its completion in 1963.
Moraes was a key figure in London’s post-war artistic landscape and acted as a muse for both Bacon and Lucian Freud.
On Friday, the triptych made its auction debut at Sotheby’s in London during a contemporary evening sale that reached a total of £96.1m – the highest weekly evening sale of a frieze at Sotheby’s since 2015.
It was until recently held by the Museum of Modern Art (Moma) in New York, where it remained for more than 30 years after Mr. Paley’s death in 1990.
Bacon, known for his bold and shocking figurative style, died aged 82 in 1992.
His work focuses on the human form in an often brutal manner and includes a number of triptychs, religious depictions of crucifixes and popes, and self-portraits.
Sotheby’s said proceeds from the sale will support various charities, including The Paley Museum, Greenpark Foundation and a new endowment at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art).
Other works will be sold at Sotheby’s to benefit charitable causes on Saturday.