It’s your last chance to see our ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ exhibition! Francis Bacon: Human Presence features more than 55 works from the 1950s onwards and explores this iconic British artist’s deep connection to portraiture and how he challenged traditional definitions of the genre. The exhibition includes works that have never been shown in the UK before, from his responses to portraiture by earlier artists to large-scale paintings memorialising lost lovers; works from private and public collections will show

In Francis Bacon’s self-portraits, the face becomes a battleground. Ahead of The London Sales, Sotheby’s Tom Eddison investigates how Bacon’s series self-portraits acted as tools for the artist to explore the depths of his own identity. Bacon’s 1972 self-portrait is a masterwork from the most inwardly scrutinizing year of his life. Following the death of his partner, George Dyer, Bacon produced nine self-portraits in this smaller format. The painting shown here is one of the most striking iterat

As Francis Bacon said, “Everything I do goes into painting.” In this short video, Academy Award-winning actor Jeremy Irons brings to life excerpts from the artist’s interviews with David Sylvester and reveals Bacon’s own thoughts about his celebrated self portraits. 'Two Studies for a Self-Portrait,' painted by Bacon in 1970, highlights our Contemporary Art Evening Auction in New York on 11 May 2016 - on view now in our 10th floor galleries! #ImagineTheConversation | Sotheby's