This drawing is one of Bacon’s earliest works and his first known portrait. It represents an imagined boy, although it may be based on the likeness of his older brother, Harley, who had died the previous year. Portrait is stylistically distinct from Bacon’s mature works, and contains none of the psychological torment and physical distortion evident in his later paintings. Yet the boy’s sickly face, distracted gaze, and unnaturally red shirt evoke a sense of strangeness and alienation—pervasive themes in the artist’s oeuvre. Bacon would continue to explode the genre of portraiture for fifty more years. This portrait demonstrates the artist’s approach to the genre at the beginning of his career, before he began working seriously with oil, his primary medium.
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the artist (his gift to Watson); Diana Watson, London; (sale, Sotheby's, London, July 30, 1952, no. 16, as "Self Portrait," 17 1/4 x 13 in., sold to Beaux Arts Gallery); [Beaux Arts Gallery, London, from 1952]; Kenneth John Hewett, London; Lady Noel Evelyn Norton, London (by 1954–56; sold in 1956 to Heinz); Drue Heinz, New York (1956–d. 2018; gift of Drue Heinz Trust to MMA)
London. Guildhall Art Gallery. "Trends in British Art, 1900–1954," July 15–August 21, 1954, no. 64 (as "A Head," lent by Lady Norton).
London. Institute of Contemporary Arts. "Francis Bacon," January–February 1955, no. 1 (as "Self-Portrait").
London. Tate Gallery. "Francis Bacon," May 24–July 1, 1962, no. 1 (lent by Mrs. H.J. Heinz II, New York).
Kunsthalle Mannheim. "Francis Bacon," July 18–August 26, 1962, no. 1.
Edinburgh. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. "Francis Bacon: Portraits and Heads," June 4–September 4, 2005, no. 1 (lent by a private collection).
Hamburger Kunsthalle. "Francis Bacon: Die Portraits," October 13, 2005–January 15, 2006, no. 1.
London. Tate Britain. "Francis Bacon: Early Works," October 28, 2009–October 24, 2010, no catalogue.
"British Painting (1900–1954): Guildhall Gallery Exhibition." Times (July 15, 1954), p. 12.
Ronald Alley. Francis Bacon. London, 1964, pp. 26–27, no. 5, ill., calls it "portrait" and dates it about 1931–32.
Lorenza Trucchi. Francis Bacon. New York, 1975, p. 124.
Hugh M. Davies. Francis Bacon: The Early and Middle Years, 1928-1958. PhD diss., Princeton University. New York, 1978, p. 14, pl. 10, dates it about 1931–32.
Andrew Sinclair. Francis Bacon: His Life and Violent Times. London, 1993, p. 165.
Marente Bloemheuvel, Jan Mot, and Ida Gianelli, ed. Marlene Dumas, Francis Bacon. Exh. cat., Malmö Konsthall. Milan, 1995, p. 94.
France Borel. Bacon: Portraits and Self-Portraits. London, 1996, ill. p. 21.
Richard Calvocoressi et al. Francis Bacon: Portraits and Heads. Exh. cat., Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, National Galleries Scotland. Edinburgh, 2005, pp. 28–29, no.1, ill. (color), dates it about 1931–32.
Margarita Cappock. Francis Bacon's Studio. London, 2005, pp. 103, 155 n. 2.
Michael Peppiatt. Francis Bacon: Studies for a Portrait. Essays and Interviews. New Haven, 2008, p. 187 n. 8, dates it about 1931–32.
Michael Peppiatt. Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma. Rev. ed. New York, 2009, pp. 65, 422.
Martin Harrison and Rebecca Daniels, ed. Francis Bacon: Catalogue Raisonné. Vol. 2, 1929–57. London, 2016, p. 116, no. 30–03, ill. p. 117 (color).
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