Lucian Freud ('Three Studies for Portrait of Lucian Freud')
- Artist: Francis Bacon
- Date: 1964
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 13 3/4 in. x 11 3/4 in. (350 mm x 300 mm) overall (each panel)
- Portrays: Lucian Freud
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
"Before you is a triptych by Francis Bacon – oil on canvas, painted in 1964. Three panels show Lucian Freud from slightly different angles, each framed by vibrant red tones that echo the palette of Edouard Degas. The composition comes from a photograph taken by their mutual friend John Deakin, and it marks the friendship between Bacon and Freud that lasted decades. Bacon first painted Freud in 1951; this set of studies was created over more than a decade later. Each panel is about 13¾ inches wide, giving the work an intimate but powerful feel."
See it in person
Lucian Freud ('Three Studies for Portrait of Lucian Freud') is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
