Francis Bacon's two self-portraits fetched a staggering £30 million at a Sotheby's auction on Wednesday.
The Telegraph reported that the two portraits by the Irish-born painter had never been displayed in a public exhibition before. Art critics and historians were aware of their existence, but had no idea where these artworks had gone to or who owned them. In a private collection this year, they reappeared courtesy of the original collector's descendants who decided to sell them.
Bacon's "Self-Portrait" was sold for £15.3 million. It was painted just after the suicide of his former lover George Dwyer in 1971. The "Three Studies for Self-Portrait" (1980) on the other hand, depicts an aging Bacon at 71, preoccupied with the thoughts of death in a crestfallen countenance. It was sold for £14.7 million.
These artworks were described by the auction house as "magnificent works that narrate the latter half of a most extraordinary decade for Francis Bacon."
But the artist's "Study for a Pope I" failed to attract high enough bids to meet the reserve, having had an estimate of £25-35m.
However, BBC News reported that Bacon's "Study for a Pope I" fell short of drawing high bids for meeting the reserve, as it had an estimated value of £25-35 million. This was one of the six pope artworks he created exclusively for an exhibition at the Tate in 1961.
The Independent mentioned other notable artworks that fetched a considerable sum at the auction, including Andy Warhol's dollar bills that fetched £20.9m. Gerhard Richter's 1987 work "AB, Brick Tower" was also among the top earners, fetching £14.1m. Lucian Freud's "Four Eggs on a Plate" (2002) went for £989,000, nearly ten times its pre-sale estimate. This artwork was Freud's gift to the late Dowager Duchess of Devonshire.
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