The complete prints of Francis Bacon are available on Christie’s online only auction from October 22 to November 5. This is the first time the complete collection of Bacon’s entire graphic oeuvre has been offered at auction.
It includes variations on some of his most famous subjects and themes. Study for a Bullfight is estimated at £40,000-60,000; Three Studies for a Self-Portrait is estimated at £18,000-25,000 and Study for a Portrait of Pope Innocent X after Velasquez has an estimate of £15,000-25,000. There are 36 lots, with estimates from £2,000 to £60,000.
The collection was formed in the 1970s and 1980s by a private collector, who had personal access to Bacon’s publishers and usually purchased the prints directly from them at the time of issue. In his printed works, Francis Bacon further explored and developed the subjects of his paintings, thereby creating a second body of work which reflects his life-long obsessions and themes. Images Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2013. (Click on either image to enlarge).