Francis Bacon's "Study for Self-Portrait 1964" is to be auctioned at Christie's Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening auction in King Street, London on 27 June 2012. This fascinating self-portrait inspired by a photograph of Lucian Freud by fashion photographer John Deakin marries the body of Freud with the twisted and contorted face of Francis Bacon. Apart from a few early portraits Bacon never painted from life and preferred working from photographs as the presence of his models inhibited him. In the 1960s Bacon commissioned John Deakin to take portraits of his friends and his lover George Dyer to have source material readily available to work from.
Freud met Bacon in 1943 and both artists were very good friend for decades until their friendship abruptly ended following an argument. Both artists inspired one another so it is not surprising that Bacon produced a portrait of them both morphing into one.
