1969
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Top 10 Bacon Bacon 1963-70 Hockney UK II Twombly Picasso in Mougins The Man Self portrait Cities
See also : Top 10 Bacon Bacon 1963-70 Hockney UK II Twombly Picasso in Mougins The Man Self portrait Cities
1969 BACON
1
Three Studies of Lucian Freud
2013 SOLD for $ 142M by Christie's
As early as 1944, the triptych is the favorite medium of Bacon. The three perspectives cancel the plane of the canvas to provide to the viewer the mental illusion of a three-dimensional space.
Heads in small sizes often come to auction, but larger works are exceptional. On November 12, 2013, Christie's sold for $ 142M Three Studies of Lucian Freud, three oils on canvas painted in 1969, 198 x 148 cm for each element. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
The two artists have been friends for nearly a quarter of century. Francis is in his George Dyer period and his appeal to Lucian has no reason to be erotic. Always looking for a total empathy with his entourage, Bacon pays tribute to a rival whom he admires. The seating position is gentle, but the colors and deformities of the face express the passions, in front of a strident yellow background.
Bacon locked Freud in a threadlike prism, similar to a squaring but proving his intent of the three-dimensional nature of the triptych. This desire to control his friend is fictional and symbolic because Bacon, as almost every time, worked this triple portrait from photos made by John Deakin.
Christie's does not indicate an estimate but compares the importance of this work with the triptych of the same size sold for $ 86M by Sotheby's on 14 May 2008. Painted in 1976, this work is more symbolic but also less three-dimensional due to the decomposition of the body in the central picture.
Heads in small sizes often come to auction, but larger works are exceptional. On November 12, 2013, Christie's sold for $ 142M Three Studies of Lucian Freud, three oils on canvas painted in 1969, 198 x 148 cm for each element. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
The two artists have been friends for nearly a quarter of century. Francis is in his George Dyer period and his appeal to Lucian has no reason to be erotic. Always looking for a total empathy with his entourage, Bacon pays tribute to a rival whom he admires. The seating position is gentle, but the colors and deformities of the face express the passions, in front of a strident yellow background.
Bacon locked Freud in a threadlike prism, similar to a squaring but proving his intent of the three-dimensional nature of the triptych. This desire to control his friend is fictional and symbolic because Bacon, as almost every time, worked this triple portrait from photos made by John Deakin.
Christie's does not indicate an estimate but compares the importance of this work with the triptych of the same size sold for $ 86M by Sotheby's on 14 May 2008. Painted in 1976, this work is more symbolic but also less three-dimensional due to the decomposition of the body in the central picture.
2
Study for Bullfight
2007 SOLD for $ 46M by Sotheby's
Life is a struggle that must include risks. Michel Leiris is looking for a ritual to explain his conception of literature. He finds bullfighting, this game in public between man and beast of which one of them will die. In 1938 he publishes an essay titled Miroir de la Tauromachie.
Francis Bacon, existentialist artist, was familiar with the work of Leiris, famous for his reciprocal influence with Sartre. In 1966 Leiris presented to Bacon a copy of his Miroir. Bacon sees in it a new theme for his art, with a sexual allusion in the physical rapprochement between man and bull. He finds photos in the memory book of the matador Antonio Ordóñez.
In 1969 Bacon prepares canvases 200 x 148 cm, probably for the project of a triptych. Two versions, Study for Bullfight No. 1 and No. 2, show the instant action when the bull passes the matador's cape. The arena is a circular area without background, with a tall concave screen in which the artist installs the crowd of spectators.
The sexual excitement is not achieved in these realistic images. His Second Version of Study for Bullfight No. 1 displays two major modifications. The screen is now empty, accentuating the intimacy of the two protagonists of the action. In the foreground, a spermatozoid is disproportionately enlarged, and released from a human shadow on which it had been placed.
Second Version of Study for Bullfight No. 1 was sold for $ 46M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2007, lot 29.
As far as bullfight is concerned, Bacon is neither Hemingway nor Picasso. He probably appreciates that it is illusory to go forward on this theme with his too limited experience of corridas. His torero with a blackened face cannot appeal the aficionados. He will not execute the triptych.
Francis Bacon, existentialist artist, was familiar with the work of Leiris, famous for his reciprocal influence with Sartre. In 1966 Leiris presented to Bacon a copy of his Miroir. Bacon sees in it a new theme for his art, with a sexual allusion in the physical rapprochement between man and bull. He finds photos in the memory book of the matador Antonio Ordóñez.
In 1969 Bacon prepares canvases 200 x 148 cm, probably for the project of a triptych. Two versions, Study for Bullfight No. 1 and No. 2, show the instant action when the bull passes the matador's cape. The arena is a circular area without background, with a tall concave screen in which the artist installs the crowd of spectators.
The sexual excitement is not achieved in these realistic images. His Second Version of Study for Bullfight No. 1 displays two major modifications. The screen is now empty, accentuating the intimacy of the two protagonists of the action. In the foreground, a spermatozoid is disproportionately enlarged, and released from a human shadow on which it had been placed.
Second Version of Study for Bullfight No. 1 was sold for $ 46M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2007, lot 29.
As far as bullfight is concerned, Bacon is neither Hemingway nor Picasso. He probably appreciates that it is illusory to go forward on this theme with his too limited experience of corridas. His torero with a blackened face cannot appeal the aficionados. He will not execute the triptych.
3
Self Portrait for Valerie Beston
2023 SOLD for $ 34.6M by Christie's
Francis Bacon was not an easy fellow. Around 1969 he got bored of his Soho friends and arguably also of his lover George. The self portrait becomes a leading theme in his art.
Valerie Beston was a partner to Francis in London in business and in social life. She was overseeing his affairs at the Marlborough Gallery since 1958. Francis prepares for her use a self portrait in bright impastos in the format of his head triptych elements. The slightly bent head is careful and the hairstyle is clean. He is indeed socially acceptable and even tender behind his distorted nose and mouth.
This oil on canvas 36 x 30 cm painted in 1969 is dedicated "to V with all very best wishes, Francis". It had been exhibited in 1971 in the cornerstone solo exhibition at the Grand Palais where Valerie assisted him. Valerie kept it throughout her life. It was sold for $ 34.6M from a lower estimate of $ 22M by Christie's on May 11, 2023, lot 5A.
Coming from the Newhouse collection, it was hung therein as a pendant with a Study of Henrietta Moraes laughing, oil on canvas of same size and same year, sold for $ 21.7M by Christie's on November 15, 2018, lot 6C.
Valerie Beston was a partner to Francis in London in business and in social life. She was overseeing his affairs at the Marlborough Gallery since 1958. Francis prepares for her use a self portrait in bright impastos in the format of his head triptych elements. The slightly bent head is careful and the hairstyle is clean. He is indeed socially acceptable and even tender behind his distorted nose and mouth.
This oil on canvas 36 x 30 cm painted in 1969 is dedicated "to V with all very best wishes, Francis". It had been exhibited in 1971 in the cornerstone solo exhibition at the Grand Palais where Valerie assisted him. Valerie kept it throughout her life. It was sold for $ 34.6M from a lower estimate of $ 22M by Christie's on May 11, 2023, lot 5A.
Coming from the Newhouse collection, it was hung therein as a pendant with a Study of Henrietta Moraes laughing, oil on canvas of same size and same year, sold for $ 21.7M by Christie's on November 15, 2018, lot 6C.
4
Self Portrait
2007 SOLD for $ 33M by Sotheby's
In 1969 Francis Bacon is 60 years old. His Soho friends are also aging. He looks at himself, once again.
A painting featuring him with a sad gaze is important for him, as evidenced by its simple title Self Portrait without the frequent "Study for ..." that he uses when a work belongs to a series or an intended series.
This oil on canvas 35 x 45 cm was sold for $ 33M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2007, lot 19.
A painting featuring him with a sad gaze is important for him, as evidenced by its simple title Self Portrait without the frequent "Study for ..." that he uses when a work belongs to a series or an intended series.
This oil on canvas 35 x 45 cm was sold for $ 33M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2007, lot 19.
1969 HOCKNEY
1
Sainte-Maxime
2022 SOLD for £ 21M by Christie's
In 1966 Peter Schlesinger is attending a drawing class in Los Angeles. For this session, the teacher is David Hockney, an eccentric Brit with a tomato red suit, cardboard glasses and a terrible Yorkshire accent. It's love at first sight. Their life as a couple lasts several years, with social gatherings and travels.
In the fall of 1968, after a cruise down the Rhine, they are guested by the film director Tony Richardson in his villa Le Nid du Duc in the mountains over the Côte d'Azur.
David takes photos, from which he will realize four realistic paintings as souvenirs of that happy time.
Early morning, Sainte-Maxime, acrylic on canvas 122 x 153 cm painted in 1969, is a contre-jour view of the sea shore in that chic resort, taking advantage of the sunrise reflection on the sea for a range of bright colors, from the pink and violet sky to the purple, azure and aquamarine of the sea and the gold on sun light.
The picture includes the signature streaks for the stylized waves. A jetty at low tide looks like a Californian diving board. For the hypersensitive artist, the sunrise symbolizes the hope and joy of awakening.
This painting was sold for £ 21M from a lower estimate of £ 7M by Christie's on October 13, 2022, lot 8.
In the fall of 1968, after a cruise down the Rhine, they are guested by the film director Tony Richardson in his villa Le Nid du Duc in the mountains over the Côte d'Azur.
David takes photos, from which he will realize four realistic paintings as souvenirs of that happy time.
Early morning, Sainte-Maxime, acrylic on canvas 122 x 153 cm painted in 1969, is a contre-jour view of the sea shore in that chic resort, taking advantage of the sunrise reflection on the sea for a range of bright colors, from the pink and violet sky to the purple, azure and aquamarine of the sea and the gold on sun light.
The picture includes the signature streaks for the stylized waves. A jetty at low tide looks like a Californian diving board. For the hypersensitive artist, the sunrise symbolizes the hope and joy of awakening.
This painting was sold for £ 21M from a lower estimate of £ 7M by Christie's on October 13, 2022, lot 8.
2
Geldzahler and Scott
2019 SOLD for £ 38M by Christie's
Looking for sexual freedom, David Hockney arrives in California in 1964. The easy life nevertheless does not answer his questioning about communication within a couple.
Between 1968 and 1977 he makes double portraits in very large format, 214 x 305 cm. He alternates between homosexual and heterosexual couples and ends the series with his own parents, clearly assessing that his concern is no longer sex but dialogue. The sitters are most often identified in the title and are very recognizable.
Invariably the two characters are distant from each other with a deliberately orthogonal gazing. In this strange intimacy, the painter is an invisible social voyeur.
Installed again in London in 1968, he does not neglect America. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is preparing a major exhibition that will reveal post-war American art to the general public. The curator of this important cultural operation is the highly influential Henry Geldzahler.
Hockney arrives in Geldzahler's living room in Manhattan with his sketchbook, polaroid camera and flu. Back in his studio in London, he paints in 1969 'Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott'. This acrylic on canvas was sold for £ 38M by Christie's on March 6, 2019, lot 8.
The two men could not be more dissimilar and yet their life as a couple is sustainable. Robust and confident in himself, Geldzahler is comfortably seated in the middle of a beautiful sofa worthy of the greatest Art Deco collections. On the right, his young partner is standing, dressed in a raincoat too big for him and as stiff as the floor lamp. The scene is located by the skyscrapers beyond the small window.
Between 1968 and 1977 he makes double portraits in very large format, 214 x 305 cm. He alternates between homosexual and heterosexual couples and ends the series with his own parents, clearly assessing that his concern is no longer sex but dialogue. The sitters are most often identified in the title and are very recognizable.
Invariably the two characters are distant from each other with a deliberately orthogonal gazing. In this strange intimacy, the painter is an invisible social voyeur.
Installed again in London in 1968, he does not neglect America. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is preparing a major exhibition that will reveal post-war American art to the general public. The curator of this important cultural operation is the highly influential Henry Geldzahler.
Hockney arrives in Geldzahler's living room in Manhattan with his sketchbook, polaroid camera and flu. Back in his studio in London, he paints in 1969 'Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott'. This acrylic on canvas was sold for £ 38M by Christie's on March 6, 2019, lot 8.
The two men could not be more dissimilar and yet their life as a couple is sustainable. Robust and confident in himself, Geldzahler is comfortably seated in the middle of a beautiful sofa worthy of the greatest Art Deco collections. On the right, his young partner is standing, dressed in a raincoat too big for him and as stiff as the floor lamp. The scene is located by the skyscrapers beyond the small window.
1969 TWOMBLY
1
Untitled (Bolsena)
2015 SOLD for $ 43M by Christie's
From May to October 1969 Cy Twombly spends the summer in a Renaissance palace above Lake Bolsena, where he isolates himself to deepen his quest about the primordial generation of human energy through movement. Aged 41, he is certainly less sensitive to pornography and more to communication.
His new style will be comparable to a street art whose insignificant details form an opulent waterfall of graffiti through the spontaneity of the artist's gesture. He works with house paint, lead or graphite, wax pencil and sometimes felt-tip pen on canvases 200 x 240 cm.
Temporarily renouncing the dark background, he distributes his floating forms on a cream or off-white surface. Color is limited to pencil lines. Rectangles and numerals replace in this waterfall his previous graffitis of the antique passions.
This sub-series inspired by the Apollo 11 lunar mission is made of 14 Untitled (Bolsena) 200 x 240 cm canvases.
One of them was sold for $ 15.4M by Sotheby's on May 13, 2013, lot 13.
Another opus was sold for $ 43M by Christie's on May 13, 2015, lot 43B. It is very precisely dated July 10, 1969, during the preparation phase of the space mission.
His new style will be comparable to a street art whose insignificant details form an opulent waterfall of graffiti through the spontaneity of the artist's gesture. He works with house paint, lead or graphite, wax pencil and sometimes felt-tip pen on canvases 200 x 240 cm.
Temporarily renouncing the dark background, he distributes his floating forms on a cream or off-white surface. Color is limited to pencil lines. Rectangles and numerals replace in this waterfall his previous graffitis of the antique passions.
This sub-series inspired by the Apollo 11 lunar mission is made of 14 Untitled (Bolsena) 200 x 240 cm canvases.
One of them was sold for $ 15.4M by Sotheby's on May 13, 2013, lot 13.
Another opus was sold for $ 43M by Christie's on May 13, 2015, lot 43B. It is very precisely dated July 10, 1969, during the preparation phase of the space mission.
2
Untitled (Bolsena)
2020 SOLD for $ 39M by Christie's
Another Untitled (Bolsena) 200 x 240 cm was sold for $ 39M by Christie's on October 6, 2020, lot 16.
3
Blackboard
2022 SOLD for $ 38M by Sotheby's
In his so named Blackboard series, Twombly tries every possible disturbance of line and script.
An Untitled from 1969 reveals the rebellious energy of the artist. The edge to edge lines of loops are so intertwined that they are not easily counted at a first glance; they are in fact five lines in the usual proportions in the series with intervals fitted by overlapping narrower lines..
That mixing increases from top to bottom. In the same direction, the basic loop is degraded into a mere sawtooth.
The proto-writing reaches an unreadable effect, modeling a civilization that jumps from order to disorder.
This oil based house paint and wax crayon on canvas 200 x 240 cm was sold for $ 38M by Sotheby's on May 19, 2022, lot 119.
A graphite, wax crayon and oil-based house paint on canvas was executed by Twombly on a white background in the same 200 x 240 cm size as the Apollo 11 inspired series to which it is considered as belonging, but it could more properly be attached to the so-called Blackboard series.
Its proto-writing is fully erased by nervous lines, including an unexplained 17 in the middle and the expansive signature of the artist between the identifications BOLSENA and 69 in the lower right.
This otherwise untitled picture was sold for $ 20M by Christie's on May 11, 2023, lot 14A.
An Untitled from 1969 reveals the rebellious energy of the artist. The edge to edge lines of loops are so intertwined that they are not easily counted at a first glance; they are in fact five lines in the usual proportions in the series with intervals fitted by overlapping narrower lines..
That mixing increases from top to bottom. In the same direction, the basic loop is degraded into a mere sawtooth.
The proto-writing reaches an unreadable effect, modeling a civilization that jumps from order to disorder.
This oil based house paint and wax crayon on canvas 200 x 240 cm was sold for $ 38M by Sotheby's on May 19, 2022, lot 119.
A graphite, wax crayon and oil-based house paint on canvas was executed by Twombly on a white background in the same 200 x 240 cm size as the Apollo 11 inspired series to which it is considered as belonging, but it could more properly be attached to the so-called Blackboard series.
Its proto-writing is fully erased by nervous lines, including an unexplained 17 in the middle and the expansive signature of the artist between the identifications BOLSENA and 69 in the lower right.
This otherwise untitled picture was sold for $ 20M by Christie's on May 11, 2023, lot 14A.
1969 Mousquetaire à la pipe by Picasso
2013 SOLD for $ 31M by Sotheby's
In 1966, Pablo Picasso is recovering. Despite his fragile health, the artist has kept his frenzy of creation, but his relationship to the world has changed. He no longer travels and is afraid of being jostled by a crowd.
His Musketeers are an offshoot of the masculinity that still excites the old man, but it is difficult to regard them as self-portraits. They are instead his companions of adventures. The temperament of the male transcends time: Picasso compares the soldiers from Rembrandt's time with the hippies of the sexual revolution.
The art of Picasso becomes a wink of complicity with youth. For the first time, his theme is decidedly humorous. The French boys, always fans of Alexandre Dumas, are delighted. They do not consider the dominant red and gold of these paintings that also mark the artist's refusal to return to Franco's Spain. Art critics are skeptical, except Zervos.
Pablo combines his own styles within that series as he has done since the early 1930s. A decidedly cubist Mousquetaire à la pipe, oil on canvas 195 x 130 cm painted on March 5, 1969, was sold for $ 31M by Sotheby's on November 6, 2013 from a lower estimate of $ 12M, lot 29.
His Musketeers are an offshoot of the masculinity that still excites the old man, but it is difficult to regard them as self-portraits. They are instead his companions of adventures. The temperament of the male transcends time: Picasso compares the soldiers from Rembrandt's time with the hippies of the sexual revolution.
The art of Picasso becomes a wink of complicity with youth. For the first time, his theme is decidedly humorous. The French boys, always fans of Alexandre Dumas, are delighted. They do not consider the dominant red and gold of these paintings that also mark the artist's refusal to return to Franco's Spain. Art critics are skeptical, except Zervos.
Pablo combines his own styles within that series as he has done since the early 1930s. A decidedly cubist Mousquetaire à la pipe, oil on canvas 195 x 130 cm painted on March 5, 1969, was sold for $ 31M by Sotheby's on November 6, 2013 from a lower estimate of $ 12M, lot 29.
