Francis Bacon: Paintings: The Complete Collection. This item is unavailable.Francis Bacon: Paintings: The Complete Collection

Francis Bacon: Paintings is a compact collection of the complete paintings of Irish-born British figurative painter Francis Bacon. Accompanied by a curated selection of compelling quotes — from figures such as Lucian Freud, Roald Dahl and Damien Hirst — the book guides the reader through the evolution of Bacon’s distinctive aesthetic.

A master of the grotesque, Bacon created art that is both unsettling and hypnotic, repulsive and irresistible. Emerging from a turbulent inner life and the devastation of World War II, his images retain a quality of urgency that continues to resonate with contemporary audiences.

Over a career spanning more than five decades, Bacon produced almost 500 paintings, including his signature diptychs and triptychs. From his early Surrealist experiments of the 1920s to the stark, elegiac works completed just before his death, this book charts a lifetime of radical and groundbreaking artistry.

Francis Bacon (1909–1992) was born into a wealthy family in Dublin. Frequent trips to the continent in his early life exposed him to the art of Picasso and the Surrealists, shaping his artistic sensibilities. He rose to fame with his 1944 triptych Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, whose distorted forms shocked viewers. Throughout his career, he created some of the most haunting works of the 20th century, his friends and lovers, including George Dyer and John Edwards, often becoming his muses. Since his death in Madrid, Bacon’s artistic significance has only grown, with major exhibitions celebrating his work and his paintings selling for record prices.