Francis Bacon's Russian triptych could fetch a possible $75 million at auction
Francis Bacon is fond of doing Triptych's as fans of his art will know. And here is yet another one, a triptych that depicts the aftermath of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky's 1940 assassination in Mexico City.
It is expected to fetch up to $75 million when it goes up for auction next week. Described by Christie's as being among Bacon's last great paintings, 'Triptych 1986-7' features U.S. President Woodrow Wilson leaving the post-World War One Treaty of Versailles meeting in 1919. Bacon's pal John Edwards is on its other two canvases.
Christie's price estimate for the work, part of a March 1st sale of 20th and 21st century masterworks, is $48 million - $75 million.
Bacon lived between 1909 and 1992, and certainly reflected the passage of time and those pivotal historical moments which also had implications for the whole world.
Other paintings in the sale include Lucian Freud's 1986-87 portrait "Girl with Closed Eyes", estimated at $15 million. That same evening, the "Art of the Surreal" auction is also being held featuring a surrealist self-portrait by Pablo Picasso. The 1929 piece, called "La fenêtre ouverte" shows the Spanish artist and his muse Marie-Thérèse Walter, and has a price estimate of $20 million. This is one of 37 large size Marie-Thérèse paintings, which are the most expensive Picassos in the market.