The George Lindemann Journal by George Lindemann

Portrait of Bacon-Freud Back Up for Auction

By CAROL VOGEL

LONDON — The e-mail blast was sent late last month. “An exciting new discovery at Christie’s,” read a statement from Francis Outred, the head of the postwar and contemporary art department in Europe for Christie’s. Mr. Outred was describing a 1964 painting by Francis Bacon, “Study for Self-Portrait,” which he said was the only full-length self-portrait to combine Bacon’s face with the body of his friend the painter Lucian Freud.

Enlarge This Image

2012 The Estate of Francis Bacon/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York, Dacs, London, Christie’s Images Ltd.

“Study for Self-Portrait,” up for auction on Wednesday.

The canvas’s entry in the catalog for the Wednesday sale here goes on for 10 pages and includes 20 illustrations. It says the painting is the “property of a private New York collector.” A symbol next to the lot number indicates that Christie’s has a financial interest in “Study for Self-Portrait,” but the details are unclear.

What Christie’s has not disclosed in the provenance is that the painting was up for sale at Christie’s in New York in November 2008, when it did not draw a single bid. The work was also the subject of a lawsuit, settled last July, filed in March 2009 in the United States District Court in Manhattan by a family trust led by the Connecticut collector George A. Weiss. The trust said that Christie’s had reneged on a $40 million guarantee, which is an undisclosed sum promised the seller regardless of a sale’s outcome.

That guarantee had been offered in July 2008, before the markets plummeted. But by September, after Christie’s had possession of the painting, it said it would no longer honor the guarantee because of the uncertain economy.

The painting was put up for auction anyway, and when it didn’t sell, Mr. Weiss’s family trust sued Christie’s for the $40 million it says it was promised. In next week’s sale catalog the estimate simply says, “on request,” although Christie’s experts are telling clients they believe it should sell for around £20 million, or about $31.3 million.

Mr. Weiss did not return phone calls seeking comment. Ivor Braka, a London dealer who is Mr. Weiss’s agent, said he was “unable to comment” on the settlement of the lawsuit.

In a statement Christie’s said it “is delighted to be offering this important work for sale next week in London following an amicable agreement with the client in 2011.”

The portrait depicts Bacon perched on a bed, body twisted from head to toe. It was only this year that Christie’s experts determined that the body was based on a photograph of Freud.

Christie’s is hoping to capitalize on the record prices paid for Bacon works in recent seasons. A 1976 triptych went for $86.3 million in May 2008 at Sotheby’s in New York, and a 1975 self-portrait brought $34.4 million at Christie’s in London in June 2008. But both sales occurred before the markets slumped, and some dealers believe that Christie’s is offering the painting too soon after its last auction appearance.

While nobody will reveal the details of Christie’s settlement with Mr. Weiss’s family trust — citing confidentiality agreements — some experts with knowledge of the lawsuit said they believe that Christie’s ended up giving the trust a figure close to the $40 million it was after. If that is true, then Christie’s, not Mr. Weiss, owns the painting, regardless of the catalog’s designation.

Again, Christie’s declined to comment.

Art World Best Sellers - Blog #6

The late Francis Bacon painting 'Triptych, 1976' was front and center at Sotheby's 2008 sale in New York. The disturbing three-panel work sold for $86.3 million and currently holds the record for a contemporary artwork at auction.

Sure Bets: Blog Spotlight #3: "Francis Bacon: Double Take"

The Estate of Francis Bacon/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, DACS, London

ARTIST Francis Bacon

TITLE 'Figure Writing Reflected in Mirror'

AUCTION HOUSE Sotheby's

ESTIMATE $30 million to $40 million

THE market hasn’t seen a record-breaking price for Bacon since the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought his 1976 “Triptych” for $86.3 million at Sotheby’s in May 2008. Since then prices have not come anywhere near that sum, but neither have the offerings. Now, on May 9, Sotheby’s is selling a 1976 canvas depicting a male figure who is thought to be the artist’s lover, George Dyer, who committed suicide in 1971.

The painting was the star of a 1977 exhibition of Bacon’s work at the Galerie Claude Bernard in Paris. It was the cover image of the show’s catalog and hung alongside the record-breaking “Triptych.” “It was such a popular show they had to close off the street,” said Mr. Meyer, who added that this painting is creating considerable buzz. One reason is that it has not been on the market for 35 years. Another is the painting itself, with the hypnotic reflections of the man in the mirror and on the floor.

Mr. Forstmann bought the painting in 2001 from the Acquavella Galleries in New York.

via nytimes.com

"Other Big-Ticket Items" - Blog #5

[COVER_INSIDE2] Sotheby's

Francis Bacon, 'Figure Writing Reflected in Mirror'

Francis Bacon

'Figure Writing Reflected in Mirror'

Est: $30 million to $40 million

The work was included in the same 1977 show that featured Bacon's "Triptych, 1976," which sold in 2008 for $86.2 million at Sotheby's and currently holds the record price for a contemporary artwork at auction. The piece combines a self-portrait with an image of Bacon's ultimately suicidal muse George Dyer. Sotheby's contemporary evening sale on May 9 marks the first time the painting has been on the market in 35 years.