Francis Bacon  弗朗西斯?培根

 

 2011 Rank:9            Auction Revenue:US$129.19 million

2010 Rank:105       Auction Revenue:US$13.3 million

Francis Bacon (1909-1992), born in Dublin, Ireland to English parents, was one of the most prominent figurative painters and artists in the 20th century. His paintings consistently portrayed the anger, horror and pains of individuals, usually with a man appearing confined in a small geometrical cage.

Starting from 1944, Bacon set his fame almost overnight through his triptych "Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion." His portrait head works, with distorted faces and emotional anger, usually leave a deep impression on viewers. The non-professionally trained artist, who began as an interior decorator and furniture designer in his early years, ended his career as a great master depicting human condition.

Bacon's 1964 triptych painting of his friend Lucian Freud-"Three Studies for a Portrait of Lucian Freud"-was sold for US$37 million at Sotheby's in London in Feb., 2011, more than three times its pre-sale estimate. His best-ever auction result was generated by his "Triptych 1976"(198cm x 147.5cm), which brought in a 77 million hammer price at Sotheby's New York in May, 2008.