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The Price of Bacon
Posted by Amy Lugton on 17/05/2015
What is Bacon worth? You might notice the capital ‘B’ here. We’re not talking about the roll-in-the-mud version, but the raw, powerful genius that was the twentieth century artist Francis Bacon. Now highly sought-after at auctions in London and New York, Bacon’s work is not difficult to spot. Just think of a picture of a face or a body, captured at high speed while turning. That is essentially the kind of contortion that Bacon evoked in his tortured figures.
The book of interviews with Bacon, signed by the artist and available on the site now brings to mind the artist’s work, and his portrayal of himself. Bacon was not the most media friendly artist, nor was he universally admired. His homosexuality bothered many during the Britain of his era, and he did not immediately find success in art. As such, the rarity value of this piece (the seller has found only 2 other signed copies) is very much in line with the idiosyncrasy of Bacon’s life.
What Bacon perhaps did best, despite the often impenetrable nature of his art, was to articulate the ideas behind his art in interviews. His series of interviews with David Sylvester are sometimes available on the internet to view as videos. Bacon’s interactions with Sylvester stretched over a period of twenty five years, from Bacon’s relative obscurity, to the height of his art world fame. Bacon felt a link to the people in his life more so than models, or pictures of strangers. His work is intensely personal and in his best portraits, evokes a timelessness and a desperately sad attachment to the transience of life. Perhaps Bacon’s legacy is not his tortured, wildly inventive art, but the sense that we should remain in touch with those we love the most.