Pre-Valentine Wonderful Sale
Lot 120:
Description
Keywords: figurative, abstract, expressionist, postwar, modern art, European school, seated figure, mid-century, surreal, psychological portrait
NO RESERVE Francis Bacon, Signed and attributed to. Abstract figurative mixed-media watercolor, ink and gouache painting on paper. During the 1930s Bacon was predominantly a designer of innovative modern furniture. He never went to art school, but experimented during these years with the current French artistic avant-garde as his models. He was excused from military service on account of his asthma, but World War II had nonetheless a galvanizing effect on him. As he launched his painting career in earnest towards the close of 1944, Auschwitz and Hiroshima were godparents to his painted furies. To many viewers Bacon’s canvases seem ghastly depictions of torment. Bacon is considered to be one of Britain’s most exciting painters, deserving of success because he has resisted every trend and fashion in art to hack out a path of his own. His early paintings, from the 1940s, look cramped and underdeveloped, as though bred in captivity. To capture the feverish, nightmare quality of the experiences Bacon depicted, he had developed what is essentially a surrealist dream style to near perfection.
Measurement: 11 5/8 x 8.93 in. (29.5 x 22.7 cm.), Frame: 22 x 18 in. (55.9 x 45.7 cm.) approx
Condition: All descriptions and statements are our opinions and are not guarantees. Bidders are encouraged to carefully review all photographs and, when possible, to examine items in person prior to bidding. By placing a bid, you acknowledge and agree to the Terms and Conditions of Sale.
All items are sold as is and may show signs of age, use, wear, or prior restoration. Photographs form an integral part of each lot’s description. The absence of a condition report or notation does not imply that an item is free from defects or in perfect condition.
Clocks and watches are not guaranteed to be in working order. We strongly recommend that all vintage lighting be professionally rewired prior to use.
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Accordingly, all works are offered and sold as is and as attributed to the artist or maker named in the description. These attributions reflect our best professional judgment and are intended to provide collectors, researchers, and institutions the opportunity to study and further contextualize the material offered. Attributions remain open to future scholarly research or professional evaluation that may further establish a work’s art-historical or market significance.
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