Study for Figure VI (1956-57)

Francis Bacon

oil on canvas

Hatton Gallery, Newcastle University

Classification:

Painting

Materials:

Oil, Canvas

Dimensions:

149 x 116 cm

Accession Number:

NEWHG:OP.0054

Credit:

Presented by the Contemporary Art Society, with the aid of the R. J. Sainsbury Discretionary Fund, 1962

Scheme:

Gift

Ownership history:

Purchased from the artist through the Hanover Gallery, London by the Contemporary Art Society, with the R. J. Sainsbury Discretionary Settlement Fund, May 1957; presented to the Hatton Gallery, Newcastle, 1962

Relationship:

(George) Loraine Conran Hanover Gallery, London Robert 'Bob' James Sainsbury Hatton Gallery, Newcastle University R. J. Sainsbury Discretionary Settlement Fund

Subject:

Portraits, Figures

Study for Figure VI is part of a series that Bacon created during his troubled relationship with pilot and pianist Peter Lacy. The figure in this painting sits in an enclosed space, a common motif in Bacon’s work. This has been linked to incidents during Bacon’s childhood, when he was allegedly locked in a dark cupboard. However, Bacon stated that he simply used cage imagery as a device to focus the image.

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