WHAT? Francis Bacon: Human Presence 

WHERE? National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London WC2H OHE

WHEN? Now until 19th January 2025

WHY GO?  For a poignant journey.  Such is the legacy of Francis Bacon, that his name will inextricably be linked to the watering hole that was Soho’s Colony Club and lost lovers with whom he had deep tempestuous relationships.  

These associations became the subjects of his most career defining works and are proudly on show, along with letters, photographs and videos in an electrifying exhibition, a powerful tribute to the uniquely talented Irish artist.

Though there have been many Bacon exhibitions, this one is ground breaking as it focuses entirely on his portraiture, raw, unsettling and brutally honest. 

It includes several self portraits; he painted over 50 throughout his career despite claiming that he ‘loathed’ his own face. 

He often painted his portraits as triptychs, representing the sitter in various emotions from howling to haunting.  Many are dark and sombre reflecting his relationships, especially those of his lover George Dyer who committed suicide.  His are virtually an artistic obituary.

Bacon gradually preferred to paint his sitters from photographs and these form an integral part of the show, battered and torn, paint stained and worn. 

It’s fair to say this is not a jolly uplifting art experience, but a profoundly personal one as it showcases the artist, emotionally flawed but creative to the end. 

Some 55 works from the 1950s onwards represent Bacon’s life portraying friends like fellow artist Lucian Freud, lovers George Dyer and Peter Lacy plus the women in his life like Muriel Belcher who managed the Soho club where he lavishly splashed his cash around. 

Devoted portraits of a young John Edwards, his last lover and ‘true friend’, round up the exhibition.  Edwards inherited Bacon’s estate, donating everything in his studio to the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin. 

IN THE KNOW  Look ahead to several associated events related to the Bacon exhibition, most pertinently, his preference for painting from photographs rather than real life. 

Make a diary note, Francis Bacon’s portraits and photography, led by art historian and author Dr Katharina Gunther is on 12th December. 

See website for booking info.