Francis Bacon triptych goes on display in London before anticipated £46 million sale

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Robert Dex @RobDexES6 March 2020

A Francis Bacon triptych was unveiled in London today before it goes to auction where it is expected to sell for more than $60 million (£46 million).

The painting went on show at Sotheby’s in New Bond Street and will go on sale at its New York branch on May 13.

The work, which is formally known as the Triptych Inspired By The Oresteia Of Aeschylus, is almost two metres high and was bought from Bacon’s London gallery in 1984 by Norwegian collector Hans Rasmus Astrup.

The billionaire businessman said he will use the money from selling the painting to help pay for the private art museum, called the Astrup Fearnley Museet, he runs in Oslo.

He said: “Astrup Fearnley Museet is meant to be a lasting resource for the public, as it builds on the existing collection and grows beyond it. With this single sale we can ensure that the museum and collection are here in perpetuity.”

Alex Branczik, Head of Contemporary Art for Sotheby’s Europe, said the painting — which was inspired by a trilogy of ancient Greek tragedies — showed Bacon’s “arresting and original vision” and was “a true masterpiece that confirms Bacon’s standing in the pantheon of modern masters”. He added: “Over the decades, Hans Rasmus Astrup has put together one of the preeminent collections of contemporary art in Europe. An early advocate for the art of our time, he has never shied away from collecting and exhibiting the most radical and challenging contemporary artists, contributing significantly to the cultural landscape in Norway and beyond.

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“At Sotheby’s we are delighted to help support his vision, so that Astrup Fearnley Museet can continue to be a Nordic beacon for contemporary artistic practice for decades to come.”

Bacon painted 28 large-scale triptychs but only six have ever come to auction, including the Three Studies of Lucian Freud which went for a then-record amount of $142.2 million (£109 million) when it was sold in 2013.

The painter, who was born in Ireland but lived and worked in London for most of his life, died in 1992.

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