harnpagne for my real friends. real pain
for my sham friends.‘ has become one of
Francis Bacon’s best known witticisms. Renowned for his generosity and humour as well as occasional moments of extreme cruelty. the ttrttrained Dublin-born artist bttrst ortto the London art scene in I‘M-l with art exhibition that included his triptych ‘Three Studies for Figures at the Base of the (‘rttcilixiort‘. Despite initial critical outrage towards his work. tlte energy artd expression irt his paintirtg soon earned him acclaim. However. given the public‘s thirst for scandal. it is no surprise that Bacon‘s notoriotts lifestyle often eclipses his extraordinary talent as a painter. Despite being dubbed one of the most important British artists of the 20111 century. his wild social life. heavy drinking and promiscuity often form the bulk of his media image. In anticipation of the forthcoming l‘rum'is Bum/i: Portraits and Hum/s exhibition at the Scottish National (iallery of Modern Art in lidinburgh. we spoke to live people who were involved with Bacon professionally or personally to find out more abottt his real influence on British art.
Paula Reqo
One of Britain’s ore-eminent artists, Rego first moved to London from Portugal in 1957. Two years later she married
"‘z’ ~ Victor Willing, a highly respected painter. Willing died in 1987.
‘My husband used to show at Hanover along with Francis Bacon. and knew him well. Vic would sometimes pairtt on the raw side of canvases that Bacon had completed and then discarded. I met Bacon a couple of times at the (‘olony Room. which was where lots of us used to go and drink. He was known for giving out bottles of champagne to his friends and he did drink a lot. btrt he worked extremely hard: he was always at his easel by seven in the morning. although he was obviottsly ltungover.
‘I believe Bacon was the greatest artist Britain has produced. [1 was a revelation when he turned tip on the scene. .-\t a time when the surface of the canvas was supposed to be flat. the Use of perspective irt his paintings was shocking and l rementber his paintings initially selling for about £200. He had his own vision; he was unique. He revolutionised British art attd brought it irtto the 20th century.’
xl I'r'fruspt‘t‘I/t'r' (if/’(lH/(l Raw) '5' prints and it‘m‘ks’ ()II paper is on show (1! {lie 'Iit/lml Rf('(’ (Ml/cry. lit/inlnujg/r. 6 Aug 24 5(7).
Andrea Rose Director of visual arts at the British Council ‘.\lost people who krtew Bacon LL qttite well don't want to talk about him. because they are very protective of him. The constant press image that is ptit otit about Bacon being outrageously cainp and hell—bent on blood and whipping is incredibly tedious. Some of it may well he true. bill it is by no means the only story abottt him. In fact. his absolute preoccupation was not drink or sex. but actually painting. He was also art incredibly chi\alt'otts and outstandingly intelligent person with a rather old—world. lidwardian courtesy abottt him. and those sides never cortte ottt in the things written about him. "This particular exhibition. which includes portraits of his lovers. shows a curiously intimate side to Bacon which is not projected very often.
"/TT
The portraits also show something of his incredible lack of sentimentality. artd yet to paint a lover ttnsentimentally is a very diflicult thing to do. His first important lover was a man called liric Hall. who was art alderman and a Tory burgher of no great personality. and I think that sort of character coloured Bacon‘s life a lot. Some of his paintings of business men are absolutely phenomenal. These men had a degree of anonymity about them. and at the same time remained very personal to him. I think. ttnconseiottsly perhaps. he plugged into that kind of anonymity of the boardroont executive in a sttit that you meet everywhere now'adays.‘ .Ilm/n'u Ruse i'o—(tirum/ I/H’ Huron at‘lti/n’liun in lit/I‘H/NHy/I. .S'lit' is t'innmissronw' oft/iv Britt's/i l’ut'r/imr u! l/It’ \Z'Iiii't' Bimini/v. ir/it'rt' (ii/her! um/ (it’u/‘yt' (III' (In .s'/I()u"/i'r)/H /3 Jim 6 Nut".
Adam Low Director of a recent Arena documentary about Bacon’s life, for which he gained unprecedented access to
«. ~ '4 Bacon’s archives 'Bacon had a split personality. one side of which was the extremely dedicated. untrained painter who went into battle with his cartvas iii an extraordinary looking mess of a studio. arid the other side of which got pissed in Soho. tied tip irt 8&3“ clubs and gambled.
‘He couldn't help himself. When he got drunk. he turned irtto a monster. Btit he was a very witty
and amusing man. This wild picture of him is only partially true. He had a series of extremely committed relationships. which shows he was more stable than he was perceived to be.
‘lt‘s very poignant that he died in Madrid. while visiting his lover Jose. His great hero was Velazquez. while the only contemporary artist he admired was Picasso. whose work had inspired him to paint. The two artists to whom he owed the most were Spanish. and I think he was inexorably being drawn back to Madrid.
‘Bacon is extremely highly regarded now. btrt the British didn't initially take to his work very well. Although it's now the jewel in their crown. in I‘M-l. the Tate had to be almost forced to take ‘The Three Figures at the Base of the (‘rucilixion'. Bacon was much more admired in liurope. I think because his paintings aren‘t pretty. They‘re disturbing. uncomfortable. some of them are undeniably violent. and they are erotic and shocking. He just painted whatever he wanted to with great facility and enormous skill.‘
Clare Shenstone
Portrait painter
‘Francis Bacon saw my degree show in 1980 when l was a student at the Royal College. and he asked to btty one of my works. I said I would love him to have it. Later. he asked whether I would do his portrait. l was terrified. btit he was so nice to me. You always felt when you were talking to him that whatever he was thinking was what he was saying. ()n the other hand. Francis could be very cutting and quite cruel and he would dismiss people ottt of hand. Bttt when he sought your company. you felt enormottsly flattered. I did between ()0 and 7() works of him. based on fottr years of meeting tip. chatting and going for walks. He treated me as art equal and a friend. A friend once showed him my MA thesis on his painting ‘Portrait ofGeorge Dyer (‘rouching‘ and he said. "It’s extremely impressive. but I don‘t understand a word of it." .-\nd that was absolutely Francis. He was very self-effacing and terribly insecure. but that's what made him a great painter. He was never happy with what he had done and that kept pushing him forward.~
Charles Saumarez Smith
Director of the National Gallery,
London
‘When I was director of the National Portrait Gallery. we were incredibly keen to acquire a Bacon self-portrait. but didn't manage to. one major reason being that they are phenomenally expensive. It often happens that an artist's life arid work blur into one another. and I think that people's reactions to his work are influenced by an awareness of who Bacon was and what he represented. The fact that he was essentially ‘ untrained lies behind the appeal of his work. ‘ because there was an energy in his breaking away from any sense of academic traitting. In the (ii 50s and ()()s. Bacon was the dominant artist who everyone acknowledged and realised was a figure of exceptional importance. It‘s easy to i forget how provincial the British art scene was irt :5 the 50s. bttt despite this. Bacon was recognised .-' internationally and was extremely inlluential.‘
Francis Bacon: Portraits and Heads is at the -' Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, from Sat 4 Jun
.t~'\.:.i.
9 Jan .i‘tftlii THE LIST 15