Francis Bacon, 'Study for a Head,' 1952 | Contemporary Art | Sotheby’s

By Hugh M. Davies Director Emeritus, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego and Member of the Francis Bacon Authentication Committee

By Hugh M. Davies Director Emeritus, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego and Member of the Francis Bacon Authentication Committee I n the summer and fall of 1952, Francis Bacon painted a series of six small portrait heads. Study for a Head, 1952 (catalogue raisonné 52-07) is one of the two largest at 26 x 22 inches and the one most clearly identified as a “papal portrait” by the inclusion of the purple cape (Mozzetta) and white spread collar. In the reduced format of these serial portrait heads, Bacon experimented freely with the application of thick and thin oil paint, brush size, color and

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