Francis Bacon - Lot with 5 books - 1958-1983

1. Francis Bacon – Recent Works (Galerie Claude Bernard)
Title: Francis Bacon: Recent Works
Author: Critical text introduced by Michel Leiris
Publisher: Galerie Claude Bernard (Paris)
Year of publication: 1977
Number of pages: 40 pages (with large color plates folded triptych)
Description: An elegant historical catalog published for the Paris show at Galerie Claude Bernard (January–February 1977). It is a celebrated and highly sought-after publication because it documents fundamental masterworks from Bacon’s mature period and contains important texts by the noted writer and ethnologist Michel Leiris, his great friend.

2. Bacon at Brera and Forty Grosz Drawings on View in Milan
Title: Bacon at Brera and Forty Grosz Drawings on View in Milan
Author: Preface by Carlo Bertelli; Critical texts by Mario De Micheli and Giovanni Testori; Catalog edited by Valentina Maderna
Publisher: Multhipla Edizioni (Milan)
Year of publication: 1983
Number of pages: 74 pages
Description: A rare period catalog prepared for the Milan show held in 1983. The volume originally combines the display of the monumental and tormented figures of Francis Bacon exhibited at Brera with a selection of biting satirical drawings by George Grosz. Contains a splendid essay by writer and critic Giovanni Testori.

3. Francis Bacon – Recent Paintings (Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, NY)
Title: Francis Bacon: Recent Paintings
Author: Critical introduction by Lawrence Gowing
Publisher: Marlborough-Gerson Gallery Inc. (New York)
Year of publication: 1968 (November–December 1968 show)
Number of pages: 64 pages
Description: An important catalog of one of the crucial American exhibition stops for Bacon, organized by the prestigious Marlborough gallery. The cover features an intense portrait and inside it catalogues paintings created between 1966 and 1968, complete with detailed critical notes and provenance lists.

4. Francis Bacon – Toninelli Arte Moderna (Milan)
Title: Francis Bacon
Author: Critical introductory texts and lists of works
Publisher: Toninelli Arte Moderna (Milan)
Year of publication: 1958
Number of pages: About 32 pages
Description: A historic piece and absolutely rare for the Italian market. It is the catalog of Francis Bacon’s very first solo show in Italy, staged in Milan by the Toninelli gallery in 1958. The square cover in light cardboard bears one of the famous and unsettling studies of screaming or distorted faces typical of the 1950s.

5. Francis Bacon – Recent Work (Marlborough Fine Art, London)
Title: Francis Bacon: Recent Work
Author: Critical texts and introduction by Michel Leiris
Publisher: Marlborough Fine Art Limited (London)
Year of publication: 1963 (July–August 1963 show)
Number of pages: 52 pages
Description: A fundamental period catalog printed from Marlborough’s London office for the 1963 summer show. The volume contains a core essay by Michel Leiris analyzing Bacon’s visceral realism and illustrating historic works, including some of his famous studies inspired by Velázquez’s portrait of Pope Innocent X.