Francis Bacon Walking on Primrose Hill, London
Artist/Culture
Bill Brandt
(British, 1904–1983)
Date1963
Mediumgelatin silver print
Dimensions45.6 x 38.6 cm (17 15/16 x 15 3/16 in.)
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Terms
Object number1967.9
Label TextThe Irish-born painter Francis Bacon (1909–1992) combined Surrealism and painterly abstraction creating misshapen figures with anguished faces. His raw and visceral imagery earned him a reputation for presenting the dark side of humanity. Art critic and historian, Robert Hughes described Bacon as an artist of “sadism, dread, and death vomit [who] has emerged as the toughest, the most implacable, lyric artist in late twentieth century England, perhaps in all the world.”
Brandt, a German-born English photojournalist, explored contradictions within British social structure and psychology. Brandt used a high-contrast printing technique to give an abrasive edge to this three-quarter length image of Bacon.
ProvenanceBill Brandt, London, EnglandOn View
Not on view
