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  • Permanent Collection

Francis Bacon’s Studio

See inside the renowned painter's London studio

Francis Bacon Studio

Perry Ogden

1998

See inside the renowned painter's London studio

A visit to Francis Bacon’s Studio at Hugh Lane Gallery gives you a unique opportunity to experience the working process of one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists.

Born in Dublin in 1909, Bacon grew up in county Kildare. He left home at the age of sixteen and eventually settled in London where he established himself as one of the leading international artists of his generation. Bacon moved into 7 Reece Mews, London, in 1961 where he lived and worked until his death in 1992.

In 1998, director Barbara Dawson secured the donation of Francis Bacon’s studio from the artist’s heir, John Edwards, and Brian Clarke, executor of the Estate of Francis Bacon. Her vision was to remove the entire studio including all of the items without exception, as well as the architectural features, and relocate the studio as it was, to the Hugh Lane Gallery.

In the August of that year, as project manager, she assembled a team of conservators, curators, and archaeologists to carry out the move. The archaeologists made survey and elevation drawings of the small studio, mapping out the spaces and locations of all the objects, while the conservators prepared the works for travel and curators tagged and packed each of the items, including the dust. The walls, doors floor and ceiling were also removed.

Francis Bacon Gallery, installation view of three of the six unfinished works in the collection. These works span Francis Bacon’s career from the period of his first major breakthrough in the 1940s to the last years of his life when he had attained the status of the leading figurative artist of his time. Hugh Lane Gallery, 2023.

Francis Bacon Gallery, installation view of three of the six unfinished works in the collection and Kneeling Figure-Back View (c.1928). Hugh Lane Gallery, 2023.

Francis Bacon Gallery, installation view of three works in the collection. Left to right: Seated Figure and Carpet (c. 1966), Three Figures (c. 1982), Kneeling Figure-Back View (c.1928). Hugh Lane Gallery, 2023.

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Francis Bacon Studio Perry Ogden 1998