Portrait of Francis Bacon
| Portrait of Francis Bacon |
|---|
| Lucian Freud , 1952 |
| Oil on copper |
| 17.8 x 12.8 cm |
|
Tate Gallery , stolen
Link to the picture |
Portrait of Francis Bacon is a painting by Lucian Freud that was created between 1951 and 1952. It shows Freud's friend, the painter Francis Bacon at the age of 43. The picture was stolen from an exhibition in Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie in 1988 and has been missing since then.
history
The Tate Gallery acquired the painting directly from the artist in 1952, the purchase was financed by the Knapping Fund . The picture was exhibited in the Hanover Gallery in London in 1952 and two years later in the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale . This picture was stolen from the exhibition during an exhibition in the New National Gallery in Berlin on broad daylight around noon. The portrait hung on a makeshift wall that was not connected to the house's alarm system. Since that day the picture has disappeared. The offense has been statute-barred since 2001.
In 2007, the Tate Gallery planned a Lucian Freud show in which Freud was co-curator. In this context, posters were hung up all over Berlin in July 2006, in which the stolen picture was searched for using the pattern of criminal wanted posters. The poster was also distributed via the international press and the Internet. It shows an enlarged black and white image of the Bacon portrait, above it a red bar with the white lettering WANTED. The text in the lower register reads: A reward of up to DM 300,000.00 is offered for tips that lead to the recovery of this small painting. A telephone number is also given. The action was initiated by the Tate Gallery and the British Council at the suggestion of Freud, who would have liked to show the picture in the exhibition. It was financed by a private citizen and admirer of Freud. Lucian Freud was involved in the design of the poster.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ The National Archives - The Knapping Fund , accessed January 30, 2016.
- ↑ Sebastian Smee on Artist Friendships
- ↑ Lucian Freud is looking for a stolen Bacon portrait , accessed on February 2, 2016.