Sotheby's London will auction three Francis Bacon paintings at its July contemporary art evening sale, including 'Study for a Pope I' (1961), one of six pope paintings Bacon created for a Tate exhibition. The work, previously owned by Gunter Sachs, sold for a record £10 million in 2005, and is now estimated at £25–35 million ($38.3–53.7 million). The sale also features a 1975 Bacon self-portrait and three studies for a 1980 self-portrait, with total sale expectations of £204 million ($312.9 million), 35 percent from British artists.
This auction highlights the dramatic rise of Bacon's market since his first £10 million sale, which realigned his pricing with 20th-century masters like Picasso. The strong performance of British post-war artists—including Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff—reflects growing international interest, with Sotheby's noting a jump from 12 to 35 percent of total sales value from British artists since 2010. The outcome will test whether Bacon's market can sustain its momentum after his triptych 'Three Studies of Lucian Freud' set a $142.4 million record in 2013.