Francis Bacon nude portrait sells for 拢21m
- Published
The portrait has been in the hands of a private collector for 30 years
A nude portrait by Francis Bacon, of the Soho model Henrietta Moraes, has sold for 拢21m at Christie's in London.
The painting had been in the hands of a private collector and has not been seen in public for 15 years.
The amount was one of the highest fetched by a work of post-war contemporary art at Christie's.
The current record for a Bacon was set at Sotheby's in New York in May 2008, when one of the Irish-born artist's Triptychs sold for $86.3m (拢55m).
Bacon painted more than a dozen portraits of Moraes, a familar Soho denizen who also posed for Lucien Freud.
Francis Outred, of Christie's, said the painting sold this week was "one of the most seductive and sexually-charged" he had ever encountered.
The 拢21.3m price - paid by an anonymous bidder - was more than 拢1m above the auction house's top estimate.
The same event also saw a Lucien Freud etching sold for 拢145,250 - the highest amount that one of the late artist's prints has ever fetched at auction.
- Published29 June 2011
- Published11 February 2011