Francis Bacon, Diptych

Signed, dated and numbered from edition of 35 on recto.

“The formidable British artist was overseeing the installation of his exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where we met for the first time.

Afterward we jumped in a taxi and headed downtown to the Bowery where he told me he felt more at home. We spent the afternoon in several local bars. The gregarious Bacon seemed not to have any thoughts about getting back the museum but was more interested in laughing and talking with the men drinking in the bars and visiting with strangers on the street. He told me part of his inspiration came from those downtown journeys.” – Harry Benson